Ready and Waiting to Fall
by FumansGrl
Summary: Millie Reinhardt meets Robert Pattinson when she visits London for a weekend in 2007. When Millie leaves she and Rob manage to keep in contact through e-mails and text messages. They become good friends; in the end will they be ready to admit to the fall?
1. Chapter 1

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 1**

_March 3, 2007 – London, England – 4 p.m._

I was glancing back and forth between my sketchbook and the Houses of Parliament that stretched in front of me. Black ink flowed easily from my pen as I sketched a detail of the windows in the building. I really loved this building and was very content to stand in this spot, on this busy street, taking it all in.

The street that the Houses of Parliament were located on was busy with cars and pedestrians, but I was able to find a decent vantage point, leaning against a building across the street to sketch it, and tune it all out. Most people were ignoring me, but I could feel the eyes of a few questioning what I was doing.

I must have been there for a while because I saw a man who had already walked by, pass me again. The first time he had gone by I had looked over my sketchbook and watched him. He was tall and his dark hair was just long enough to creep over his ears. He was definitely a hot one. I was staring again.

He must have felt my eyes on him because he turned to look. I looked back down at my sketchbook quickly, and then he was next to me.

"That's very good." He sounded nervous as he looked down at my sketchbook. His accent blended in with all of the other voices around us.

"Thanks," I said smiling at him in return. I could tell he was a little surprised at the sound of my American accent.

"Are you an artist?"

"Mmm …" I had to think about it for a second, "Yes and no. I'm an architecture student." I looked back down at my sketchbook to find the spot I was working again, and back up at the building quickly. I began darkening some areas of the sketch for shadows.

He watched.

"Why'd you pick the Parliament?" He sounded like he realized I wasn't going to bite.

"I guess I like the perpendicular lines of it," I shrugged, looking up into his blue-gray eyes. Beautiful. I'd like to sketch him, I thought to myself.

"Well it's lovely." The man nodded toward my drawing again.

"Do you want it?" I was just about finished with this sketch.

"Oh, no – that's all right." He kind of waved my gesture off.

"You can have it," I insisted, grinning up at him. He had to be at least half a foot taller than me. "I have others. I'll even sign it for you, because I'm going to be a famous architect one day." I surprised myself with that confidence that had just come out of my mouth. I brushed my hair out of my face when a breeze came around the corner.

"A famous architect, huh?" His eyes lit up teasingly as he said the word famous. I nodded in the positive, and he laughed. "I'm Rob … Pattinson." It sounded like he added his last name as an afterthought.

"Millie," I said in response, "Reinhardt." In the corner of the page, I wrote:

_To Rob,_

_With Love,_

_Millie_

I ripped the page out of the spiral bound sketchbook, careful not to tear it anymore than necessary, and handed it to Rob.

"Well thanks Millie." Rob looked at the sketch again, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He must have enjoyed seeing 'love' written there – I could only assume.

"You're welcome," I responded as I capped the pen. I closed my sketchbook and stuck the pen down the middle of the spiral binding, before shoving it into my bag. We looked at each other for a moment and then his eyes drifted off in another direction. I noticed how he seemed a little unsure of himself, and I wasn't sure why – especially because he was the one who had initiated this conversation.

"So what brings you to London?" Rob asked.

"Actually, I'm studying in Rome for the semester, but I escaped up here for the weekend," I answered, brushing my hair back again. "I can't tell you how nice it is to hear English coming from all directions."

He laughed.

"So what's good to eat around here?" I asked as I tugged my ever-present hair tie off of my wrist so I could pull my hair back and keep it out of my eyes. It was nearing dinner time, and I was kind of hoping he'd join me. I was enjoying talking with him.

"There's a great pub a few miles from here, we can hop on the tube and head over there," Rob started and then added on quickly, "Its okay if you say no."

"No, no … I want to," I answered.

"Fantastic." Rob had a great smile and his eyes lit up as he did. "Shall we?" He held out his left hand and gestured for me to start walking.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm not pulling you away from anything am I?"

"Nah," he shook his head. Rob carefully folded the drawing and stuck it inside his jacket pocket. "I was just going to hide out in my apartment tonight."

"Glad I could help you out there." I teased. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Did you come to London by yourself?"

"Nah, I'm here with three of the guys I go to school with, but I ditched them for the day," I answered. "I live with them too, so I'm about to go bonkers if I see them anymore. Plus they are going to the Dave Matthews Band concert in Manchester, and I just didn't care to go to that." I was starting to ramble.

"That must be interesting," he said. I followed him down the stairs to the subway.

"Oh, it is." I smiled to myself.

"Do you need a ticket?" He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at me.

"I got a three-day thing." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pass I had bought at the airport. I followed him through the busy underground, and we were both quiet as we waited for the next train to pull up. It was a comfortable silence and neither of us seemed bothered by it.

When we stepped onto the train, I dug through my bag so I could find my cell phone. I had to text one of the guys to let them know I was doing okay. I sent James a text quickly, explaining to Rob what I was doing, which he got a kick out of, and then put my phone away so I could focus on the man standing by me.

He had a hold of the metal bar that ran parallel to the ceiling, and was leaning his head against his arm. Rob looked like a model standing there like that. I leaned into the poll I was holding onto, bracing myself as the train slowed to a jerky stop.

"Now we've established that I'm a student, what do you do?"

"I'm an actor-musician," he answered moving out of the way so people could get on and off. Rob stepped closer to me as the train lurched forward causing him to bump into me. "Sorry."

"That's okay." He smelled good. "That must be hard to get into both."

"Eh, it's not too bad," he shrugged. "The next stop is ours."

The train slowed again, and I planted my feet to keep from falling forward. When the doors opened, Rob and I headed off of the train. He walked behind me, but close enough that I swore I could feel his breathe on my head. After we got out of the crowd a bit, I asked him what kind of work he'd done, if any, in his chosen professions.

"I've done a couple of movies and some stage stuff."

"Really?" I was surprised. "What movies have you done?"

"Um … some small independent stuff and … _Harry Potter_." The way he said '_Harry Potter_' it sounded like he was questioning that he'd done it. I guess he didn't like to advertise that to the world.

"Impressive," I nodded. "I know absolutely nothing about _Harry Potter_ except that it's very popular."

"Really?" It was his turn to sound surprised as we headed back up to the street level.

"I just never had any desire to read or watch it so I didn't, and now it's become this 'avoid it at all costs' thing because it drives my best friend nuts that I'll have nothing to do with it."

Rob seemed to get a kick out of that comment, and his laugh made me laugh too.

"That seems like more effort than it's worth."

"Not too much," I shrugged with a smile. "So what character did you play?"

"Cedric Diggory."

"So can I tell her I met _the_ Cedric Diggory? She might be impressed." He shook his head at that comment, and his hair fell into his eyes. I wanted to reach up and brush it out of his eyes for him.

We arrived at a small pub a few minutes later, and found a place to sit in a back corner. The place was not too crowded yet, but it was still early, especially for a Saturday night. I threw my bag over the back of the chair and sat down. Rob sat down across from me.

It took a few minutes for a waiter to come and take our drink orders. Rob asked him to bring a couple of menus over as well. When our drinks had come and we had ordered our food, we fell back into our conversation from before and I asked him about his music.

He talked about that awhile and then asked me why I had picked architecture to be my profession. I really liked that he seemed genuinely interested in everything I said unlike other guys I had known, and I was truly interested in what he had to say as well.

We spent a few hours at the pub just getting to know each other, and I was starting to wish that I was going to be in London longer than the following morning. It didn't seem like either of us wanted the night to end, so to prolong the inevitable I requested that he walk me back to the Houses of Parliament so I could see it at night. He obliged my request.

"Beautiful." I sighed leaning forward against the railing that separated the sidewalk from the Thames River below. We were standing on the opposite side of the river, the lights from the Parliament reflected off of the calm water.

Rob mocked my position and stood close enough so our arms were touching.

The city was really quiet for a Saturday night, except for a few cars passing and voices of other pedestrians once in a while. We were both enjoying the silence between us. It was nice not to have to talk every second to fill it. The guys I lived with felt the need to pass every minute talking or laughing it up about Lord knows what.

This was a nice quality that Rob seemed to possess, and there were a lot of things about his personality, which I had noticed this night, that I liked about him.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my camera so I could take a couple of pictures of the building and the city at night, and I couldn't resist turning toward Rob, and snapping a picture of him.

He had his chin propped up on his hands and was looking across the river. When the flash went off, he turned his head and quirked an eyebrow; I took another picture. That was a cute look.

Smiling, I shrugged.

"Give it here." He stood up straight and held out his hand, wiggling his fingers so I would give him my camera.

"Why?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"If this is your favorite building, you should have a picture with it," Rob stated simply. He still held his hand out, so I reluctantly handed him my camera, and he stepped away from the rail so that he could take a good picture of me and the Houses of Parliament.

I leaned back against the rail and he took a couple of pictures.

"Thanks," I said as he handed my camera back to me. I felt a little bold, so I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him back next to me. He was startled by the quick action and I giggled. "We have to take a picture together now."

"Oh – okay."

Rob put his arm lightly around my waist, his hand coming to rest on my side. I was a little surprised by the gesture, but I liked it so I wasn't going to complain. He leaned in close while I held out my camera to take the picture. I took a few shots just to be sure.

When I had finished, we looked through the pictures. He kept his arm around me.

"Looks good," I said looking over at him and yawning. "Sorry." I smiled sheepishly, embarrassed.

"Am I that boring?" He asked with a quiet laugh pulling away from my side.

"No," I shook my head adamantly to get my point across. "It's kind of been a long day, and I have to leave the hotel early so I can be at the airport early enough to go back to Rome."

"Let me walk you back to where you're staying." Rob stated.

"Sure." I dug through my bag again to find the map that I had circled the street my hotel was on. I pulled it out and opened it and folded it again so the street was on top. "It is … here." I held up the map and pointed to my pen mark.

"By Leicester Square," he noted. "Should we walk? It's not too far."

"That's fine," I answered. We walked along quietly and before I knew it we were at the hotel I was staying at. "Thanks for walking me back and for dinner that was really nice of you."

I didn't want to say goodbye.

"No problem."

"Here." I pulled out my sketchbook and pen, and opening it to the back I wrote down my phone number and e-mail address. "Write your stuff down."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so shocked Rob," I teased and passed my sketchbook and pen to him. "You're a great guy and I'd like to stay in touch."

I watched as he wrote down his phone number and e-mail address too, and when he handed the book back to me, I ripped the page out and in half to give him the part that I'd written my contact information on. I stuck his half back into the sketchbook and put it back in my bag.

"Well I better get inside," I stated reluctantly.

"Tonight was fun."

"It was," I agreed with a smile on my face. "Have a good night."

"You too."

"Don't hesitate to call or e-mail me."

"I won't." Rob smiled as I started to pack up toward the door.

"Night."

"Night."

I turned to pull on the handle and with one last glance and a smile I headed inside hoping that I would hear from him soon. I made my way upstairs to the room I was staying in remembering every detail from the evening I had spent with him.

My dreams that night were filled with Rob.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**EDITS/DRAFT 1:**

The black ink flowed easily across the textured paper as I sketched a detail of the Houses of Parliament in London. I loved this building and was very content to stand in this spot, taking it all in, with my eyes and in my sketchbook. Even though the streets were busy, I had been able to tune it all out, until someone stopped next to me.

I knew his eyes were focused on where my pen was scratching several parallel lines on the page. I glanced at him for a second – he was very nice looking. He smiled back and then looked away for a moment, as if he was comparing my drawing to the building in front of him.

"That's very good." His dark hair fell in front of his eyes, and when he spoke, his accent blended in with all of the other voices around me.

"Thanks," I said. He looked a little surprised at the sound of my American accent.

"Are you an artist?"

"In a sense, I'm an architecture student," I answered. My pen met my paper again. He was quiet for a while as he watched me darken some areas of the sketch where the details of the lines met up.

"Why'd you pick the Parliament?"

"I guess I like the perpendicular lines of it," I shrugged. I really didn't mind his questions. He could probably ask me anything he wanted, and I would answer.

"Well it's lovely." He nodded toward my drawing again.

"Do you want it?" I was just about finished.

"Oh, no – that's all right."

"You can have it," I insisted. "I have others. I'll even sign it for you, just in case I become a famous architect one day." I grinned up at him.

"A famous architect, huh?" His eyes lit up teasingly as he said 'famous'. I nodded 'yes', and he laughed, but not in a mean way. "I'm Rob."

"Millie," I said in response. In the corner of the page, I wrote '_To Rob, With Love, Millie_'. I ripped the page out of the spiral bound book, careful not to tear it more than necessary, and handed it to Rob.

"Well thanks Millie." He held it up so he could look at the drawing closer.

"You're welcome," I responded. I closed my sketchbook and stuck the pen in the spiral binding, before shoving it into my bag. We looked at each other for a minute and then his eyes moved off in another direction. It looked like he was a little unsure of himself, which was odd considering he had been the one to initiate this conversation.

"So what brings you to London?" Rob asked.

"I'm actually studying in Rome for the semester, but escaped up here for the weekend," I answered, brushing my hair behind my ear that had fallen in front of my eyes. "I can't tell you how nice it is to hear English."

He laughed.

"So what's good to eat around here?" I was getting hungry since it was nearing dinner, and I secretly hoped he'd join me. I was out by myself – having ditched the three guys I'd come to London with. Besides he seemed like a decent guy.

"Actually there's a great place a few miles from here, we can hop on the tube and head over there."

"Okay." My answered must have sounded a little hesitant.

"It's okay if you say no," Rob stated.

"No, no … I want to," I answered with a smile on my face.

"Fantastic." He had a great smile, and his blue eyes lit up as he did.

"So did you come to London by yourself?" Rob asked after we had started walking

"I did, but I ditched them for the day," I answered. "I'm living in an apartment with three guys from school and we came here for the weekend. They are going to the Dave Matthews Band concert in Manchester, and I just didn't care to go – so I'm out and about by myself.

"Plus I _really_ needed a break from them. We spend 24/7 together, and I've just about had it with them," I was rambling.

"Three guys … wow."

"I know … I'm a brave soul."

He laughed.

"They are making me check in every two hours so incase I get kidnapped they might have an idea of when."

"That's good to know."

We headed down some stairs that led to the subway.

"Do you have a pass?"

"Yeah," I nodded reaching into my pocket for the ticket I had bought at the airport. I followed him through the busy underground. We were quiet, which would have normally been awkward considering we had just met, but it was rather comfortable.

When we got on the train, I dug through my bag so I could find my phone; it was time to text one of my boys and let them know I was still alive and kicking. I sent James a text quickly and then put my phone away so I could talk to Rob so more.

"So we've established that I'm a student, what do you do?" I grabbed onto the poll that we were standing by as the train slowed to a sudden stop. Rob was bracing himself by holding onto the rail that was above our heads.

"I'm an actor-musician," he answered, looking down at me and moving to get out of the way of people who were getting on and off. He stepped closer to me to move out of their way just as the train lurched forward causing him to bump into me. "Sorry."

"That's okay." Rob smelled good. "That must be hard to get into both."

He shrugged. "Eh, it's not too bad. This is our stop."

The train started to slow again and I planted my feet to keep from falling forward. When the doors opened, I turned to walk out of them, Rob was right behind me. I could feel his breath on my head a little.

After we got out of the crowd a bit, I asked him what kind of work he'd done, if any, in his chosen professions.

"I've done a couple of movies and some stage stuff."

"Really?" I was surprised.

"The only thing I'm pretty sure you've heard of – as most people have – would be _Harry Potter_."

"Impressive," I nodded. "I know nothing about _Harry Potter_, having never read the books or seen the movies, except that it's very popular."

"Really?" It was his turn to sound surprised as we headed back up to the street.

"Mmhmm," I replied. "My best friend loves it though. I just never had any desire to read or watch it so I didn't, and now it's become this 'avoid it at all costs' because it drives my best friend nuts that I'll have nothing to do with it."

Rob laughed heartily at that comment, and I laughed too.

"That seems like more effort than it's worth. They're actually pretty good," he stated.

"Eh, that's all right." I shrugged. "What character did you play?"

"Cedric Diggory."

"So can I tell her I met _the_ Cedric Diggory, she might be impressed." He shook his head at that comment and his hair fell back into his eyes. I wanted to reach up and brush it out of his eyes for him.

We got to a small restaurant, definitely off the beaten path and shown to a table immediately. I threw my bag over the back of the chair and then sat down. Rob sat down across from me and almost looked nervous.

"What kind of music do you do?"

His eyes lit up when I asked him about that. It seemed like he was more into his music than his acting. Rob told me about his band and some of the stuff they had done before we were interrupted for our drink orders.

We spent the rest of our meal getting to know each other more, and I was starting to wish I was going to be London longer then the following morning. And after we finished our long dinner, he led me back to the Houses of Parliament because I wanted to see it at night.

"Wow it looks even cooler at night." I sighed. This time we stood on the other side of the Thames River, the lights from the building reflecting on the calm water. I leaned against the railing, clasping my hands together. Rob mocked my position and stood close enough so our arms were touching.

The city was actually really quiet for a Saturday night, but it was later in the evening. We seemed to enjoy the silence between us, and the sounds of a few cars passing and voices intermixed. It was nice, the guys I was with the majority of the time felt the need to pass every minute talking or laughing it up about Lord knows what.

That was a nice quality Rob seemed to hold. There was a lot of stuff I liked about him in just the short amount of time I had known him.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my camera so I could take a couple pictures of the building. I turned and snapped a picture of him. He had his chin propped up on his hands and was looking across the river. Rob turned his head and raised his brow after the flash had gone off.

I shrugged with a smile and took another picture.

"Give it here." He stood up straight and held out his hand, waving his fingers.

"Why?" I asked.

"If this is your favorite building, don't you think you should have a picture with it?" Rob was still holding out his hand. I set my camera in his hand and he stepped away from the rail. I leaned back against the rail and let him take a couple of pictures.

"Thanks." I said as he put the camera back in my hand. I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him back next to me. He was startled by that action and I laughed. "We have to take a picture together now."

Rob put his arm around my waist lightly, and I was a little surprised by the gesture, but I liked it. He leaned in close while I held out my camera to take the picture. We looked at the pictures and he kept his arm around my waist.

"Looks good," I looked over at him and yawned. "Sorry." I smiled sheepishly. That was embarrassing.

"Am I that boring?" He laughed.

"No," I shook my head. "It's kind of been a long day, and we have to be at the airport bright and early tomorrow morning to go back to Rome."

"Well I should walk you back to your hotel then. Where are you staying?" He sounded like he already had that decision made and I wouldn't be able to protest him doing that – if that had been the case, which of course it wasn't.

"Um …" I dug through my bag again to find my map. I had circled where the hotel was at before I left that morning. "It is … here." I held up the map and pointed to my pen mark.

"By Leicester Square," he noted, squinting his eyes in the dark to see where I was pointing. "Do you want to walk?"

"Sure." I answered. We walked along in silence and before I knew it we were at the hotel. "Thank you for walking me back and for dinner that was really nice of you." I really didn't want to say goodbye to him.

"No problem."

"Here." I pulled out my sketchbook and pen, and I opened it to the back so I could write down my phone number and e-mail address. "Write your stuff down."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so shocked Rob," I passed my sketchbook and pen to him. "You're a great guy I'd like to stay in touch." I watched as he wrote down his phone number and e-mail address too, and when he handed me the book back, I ripped the page out and in half to give him my information. I stuck the slip with his back into the book and shoved it back into my bag.

"Millie! What are you still doing out?" Rob and I both turned at the sound of a male voice.

"You guys are back already?" I was surprised to see my three roommates walking up to the hotel.

"It's nearly 1 a.m."

"Oh," I paused and looked at Rob. "This is my new friend Rob." I saw the guys eye him suspiciously, especially the oldest James, who had taken to becoming my 'big brother', and heard Rob clear his throat nervously. "Rob these are my friend's from school: James, Jake and Matt." I pointed to each one.

"Nice to meet you," Rob shook their hands.

"You coming up?" James asked me. Not that he would leave me down here with Rob alone at night. I could feel a lecture coming.

"Yeah," I nodded. The three headed inside, and I turned back to Rob. I knew they'd be waiting for me inside the doors. "Well, I better go or they'll freak out if I'm not inside in the next two minutes."

"Okay," he laughed a little. "This evening was fun."

"It was," I agreed with a smile on my face. "Have a good night."

"You too."

"Don't hesitate to call or e-mail me."

"I won't."

I started to back up toward the door. "Night."

"Night."

I turned to pull on the handle and with one last glance I headed inside hoping that I would hear from him soon. As soon as I entered the lobby, I was immediately questioned by James as we headed to the elevator.

When I made it into my room, I was glad to get away from the questioning and the lecture and returned my thoughts to the man I had spent the evening with. My dreams that night were filled with Rob.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** Obviously, the e-mail addresses are not real (as far as I know … haha), and I have no concept of when Rob auditioned/filmed any of the movies that may be mentioned in this story … its fiction, so whatever.

_How to Be _information from: .

* * *

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 2**

_March 4, 2007 – Rome, Italy_

I could not stop thinking about Rob the entire flight back to Rome and during the trek back to our apartment. The guys must have thought I was in one of my "moods" as they referred to them so they just left me alone. When we got back to the apartment, I warmed up some left over pasta for an early dinner and hid out in my room.

I could hear my roommates wrestling around in the living room, and I was even more grateful for having a room of my own. I ate my dinner quickly while my laptop booted up.

I uploaded the pictures I took in London, and smiled at the ones of just Rob and then the ones of the two of us together – thankful that they hadn't turned out too blurry or dark from the lack of light. I was anxious to write Rob, so when I had finished doing that, I logged in to my Gmail account and added his information to my contacts. Then I opened up a new message and stared at it; debating what to write him.

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Sun, March 4, 2007 at 6 p.m.  
Subject: Hi : )

--

Hi Robbie! Can I call you that? I think I will. … So _Robbie_, I want to thank you again for last night. I really did enjoy myself. I hope you did too.

I got back to Rome a while ago, and I already kind of miss London – even though, Rome has become home in some sense and it's nice to be back in a familiar place. (It must be the non-Italian-speaking aspect of London that I liked.)

Back to school tomorrow for me. That's no fun. We have a mid-review for our semester project in a couple of weeks, so this was the last weekend of freedom (and I would say that it was successful). I've got so much to do to get ready for it – plans and models and sketches. It's going to be a lot of long days and nights.

So do you have any big, exciting plans for the week ahead? I hope that you aren't planning on hiding out in your apartment. :P

I'd write more, but I don't want to scare you off so soon. So thank you again. Have a good week!

With Love,  
Millie

Oh yeah, I attached the pictures we took last night. I thought you might like them. J

* * *

I hit send and hoped for the best that he would e-mail me back soon. I closed my laptop and lay back on my pillows. With the late night last night and the early morning this morning I was exhausted. Just as I was about to dose off someone knocked on my door.

"Millie?" James sounded concerned.

"Yeah?" I opened my eyes and looked toward the closed door.

"You all right?" he asked through the door.

"I'm fine. Just tired, all that walking around London yesterday wore me out." I answered. I hadn't told any of the guys about Rob, knowing that I would get the third degree from at least one of them about willingly going around a strange city with someone I had just met. "I'm going to go to sleep."

"Okay. We'll keep it down then."

I could hear his footsteps as he walked away from the door, and I closed my eyes again this time getting the chance to fall asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was turn my laptop back on and check my e-mail. I was very excited to see a reply from Rob so soon.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Mon, March 5, 2007 at 1:25 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Hi : )

--

Millie, you can call me whatever you want too, and like I said last night, I did have fun. It was really nice getting to know you.

There must be more to London that you liked other than the spoken language and the Parliament. Right? I sure hope so; it is a great city to live in.

Mid-review? And what is your project about? I'm sure you'll be okay – you seem like you know what you're doing and what you need to do to get there. And that's a very good quality.

Nope, no hiding out in my apartment. This week I've got an audition for a movie called _How to Be_, and then I'm going to work on some music with my friends. Nothing to spectacular, but I do hope the audition goes well because I really like the plot.

I think it's safe to say, that if you didn't scare me off Saturday night, you're not going to scare me off now. J (Is it possible for you to scare someone off?)

Robbie

P.S. The pictures were great. Thanks.

* * *

Either I read the e-mail wrong, or some of the things he said were little on the flirtatious side. Maybe it was easier for him to be more open through written words than spoken words. I didn't mind that one bit though.

I hit the reply button, thankful that I still had a couple hours before I had to be at school.

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Mon, March 5, 2007 at 7:30 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Hi : )

--

Robbie, glad I can call you anything I want, maybe I'll come up with something better. Hmmm … *thinks*

There are other things I like about London, besides the Parliament and use of the English language. I like … St. Paul's Cathedral, Norman Foster's 30 St Mary Axe and City Hall, and some other buildings. And, _maybe_ I like you a little bit, but only a little. :P

Mid-reviews are, I guess they're kind of like movie or music reviews, pretty much you put your work up on the wall, talk about it, and than your professors either praise you to no end, or they tell you it's a piece of crap and you should start over. … Well, maybe they aren't that harsh, all of the time, but they are never very fun. (The parties after final reviews are great though.)

For our project we have to design a museum/information center for the Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill and Colosseum. It's a pretty cool project; trying to balance the contemporary with the ancient. I'm enjoying it, but I like that stuff, as you may have already figured out.

An audition? Congrats. What is the movie about?

It's possible I may have scared people off in the past – but how would I really know?

And now I must go and get ready to hit the crowded streets of Roma. Wish me luck.

With Love,  
Millie

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Mon, March 5, 2007 at 11:57 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Hi : )

--

First things first, I'm glad to see I come up so high on your list of things you like about London. *haha*

You're right, those reviews don't sound very fun. I know how much it sucks to have something you worked so hard on be put down – it's not good for the confidence. Based on your sketch though, I can't imagine you having a bad review.

Tell me about these parties.

_How to Be_ is about this guy who moves back in with his parents because his girlfriend breaks up with him, and he kind of goes through an early "mid-crisis" and gets help from a guy who wrote a self-help book. I think it'll be fun to do, plus when I was talking to the director, Oliver, he was saying they want the characters to reflect the person who is playing them. We'll see though … I go in tomorrow.

I still don't think it's possible for you to scare someone off.

And I do hope you survive those crowded streets down there, let me know if you don't.

Might as well use it,  
Robbie

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Mon, March 5, 2007 at 10:17 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hi : )

--

Robbie – see how catchy it is?

Gah … today got crazy. I just got back from studio … you wouldn't believe all the drawings our profs added on for reviews. We have to have a site plan, two plans with context, four elevations/sections, six perspectives and a model … are you pulling your hair out yet? And they have to be hand drawn, no computer … my hand is gonna fall off just thinking about it. Where's the wall to put my head through?

On a happier note, my favorite band's new CD comes out tomorrow – so I am going to be baby-sitting iTunes all day until it is up.

Have you had a bad review of something you've done?

Oh, the parties … where to start on that one? What could you possibly want to know? There is mostly lots of drinking … and lots of drinking games … and the things people do when they've had too much to drink. I have to admit, it's more fun to watch than participate though. Not that I don't drink – I just don't do it to get drunk, like most of the people I hang out with.

I think I'd like that movie. And that's neat that the director wants the characters to reflect the people who are playing them. Does that make the job any easier? And how do you think this character is like you?

Tomorrow begins two weeks of craziness, so it's off to bed for me.

With Love,  
Millie

P.S. Good luck on your audition tomorrow, but I bet you won't need it.

* * *

After I finished writing the last e-mail for the day, I shut my laptop off and rolled off of my bed to get ready to go to sleep. I had to talk to James and Jake first about our plans for the following day because we were supposed to meet our professor, Emilio, at the train station by the Colosseum.

By time I actually made it into bed, I was truly exhausted; I was still working off the trip to London. When I had snuggled deep under the thin covers, my cell phone beeped on the table next to the bed. Sticking my hand out, I felt around for the small phone and pulled it under the covers with me.

It was a little late and out of the ordinary for me to be getting a text message at this time of night, but I smiled contentedly when I saw the short message from my new favorite person.

* * *

From: Rob  
3/5/2007 11:37 p.m.

Night.

* * *

I replied back.

* * *

To: Rob  
3/5/2007 11:40 p.m.

Good night. Sleep tight.

* * *

After two days, he was already the first thing I thought of in the morning and the last thing I thought of at night.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **This is my first time dabbling in the point of view of a male character. Should be interesting. : ) And I apologize for the lack of "British" speak. Rob's gonna sound more American.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 3**

_March 6, 2007 – London, England _

It was a little early, considering the time I fell asleep last night, but I can't get Millie out of my head. When I saw her leaning against that wall across the street from the Parliament sketching … I can still picture it clearly. I had noticed her the first time I walked by, and then she was still there when I came back by, looking in my direction.

I am so glad I stopped to talk to her Saturday evening.

Millie was beautiful, with her brown eyes and hair that seemed to curl perfectly. I was surprised that she had even given me the time of day and then let me take her to the local for dinner.

I had to get up so I could reply back to her e-mail from last night. I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until I did, and I needed to focus because of my audition later on. I pulled myself out of bed and padded into my living room where I kept my laptop set up on a makeshift desk.

I had taped Millie's sketch to the wall above it.

After waking the computer up, I grabbed it off of the table top and plopped down on the couch. It was time to settle in for writing this next response. It always took me a while to get out what I wanted to say because I didn't want to sound like a complete fool.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Tues, March 6, 2007 at 8:29 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hi : )

--

I suppose the name is catchy …

That sounds like a crazy amount of work to do in just a couple of weeks, but I can't see how it'd be very beneficial for you to put your head through a wall at this point. It'd probably be better to not have a killer headache when doing your schoolwork.

Who is your favorite band? Maybe I've heard of them … It's always good to get new music especially when it's someone you enjoy listening to.

Have I had a bad review of something I've done? A few … this wasn't really a review, but I had a role in a movie and then they completely cut me out. I was unaware of this and showed up at the premier. Oh, that was bad … and it hurts, but I've moved on from that – I think ? ? ?

Now, those parties sound fun. What's up with not drinking to get drunk? Bad experience?

I guess the character is just like me, or closer to my own personality and ways. *shrugs* I think it makes playing the character a little easier. You don't have to dig too deep to become that person, but than again isn't that the point of acting? To be someone you aren't. Hmmm … it'll be different then _HP_.

I think it's time for random questions, so Millie, how did you get your name?

I better start getting ready to head out for the audition. I'll let you know how it goes. : )

Robbie

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Tues, March 6, 2007 at 12:45 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hi : )

--

I'm anxious to hear about your audition.

Having a headache and doing studio work … ugh – my head hurts just thinking about it. *haha* It's definitely not a good idea, I guess in the meantime I'll just listen to a song I have with the lyrics "Whoa-o … I've been banging my head against the wall …"

My favorite band is Relient K (that's their lyric above), they are generally considered a "Christian" pop-punk band, but they've had some air time on MTV, which I haven't decided if that's a good or bad thing yet. Their new CD is appropriately titled "Five Score and Seven Years Ago" – it's their fifth album in seven years. Gotta love the boys and their tongue and cheek-ness, that is one of the things that makes them so fantastic. Now if only iTunes would get with the time zone over here so I wouldn't have to wait until this evening for it. *sighs*

Patience is not a quality I hold …

What about you, who's your favorite artist or band?

As for getting drunk, it was definitely a bad experience that got me on that one - my 21st birthday. I don't like to remember it, but than again I think the only thing I remember is when I woke up and it sucked. Never again.

Yeah, I think that is the point of acting. But, I guess all that really matters is that you like the roll and want to put the effort into it.

The random question answer is: I was named after my Great-Grandmother, but in a more modern sense. Her name was Millicent and I thank my parents every day that _that_ did not end up on my birth certificate. That could have been horrible.

So the random question for you is: When is your birthday? (How creative am I?)

And since I technically asked two questions that must be my cue to get back to work!

Millie

* * *

It was after my audition, and I had practically been given the part on the spot. Today couldn't have gone better. All I wanted to do was go back to my apartment so I could see if Millie wrote me and tell her how it went, but I told my Mum I would come over for dinner when I was done for the day.

Since I couldn't e-mail Millie, I figured I would text her. I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket and wrote her a quick text.

* * *

To: Millie  
3/6/2007 5:15 p.m.

I got the part.

* * *

I was hoping she would text me back right away, like she had last night, but that wasn't the case, and I was about to walk into my parents house. I guess I'd have to wait.

"I'm here!" I walked to the kitchen where I could hear my parents talking about their days. Mum started asking me about my audition so we got on that topic, and they were both excited to hear I got the part.

As we were about to sit down to eat my phone beeped. I pulled it out of my pocket.

"Put that away." My mother scolded as she sat down at the table.

"Just one second." I pressed the buttons as quickly as I could to see if it was Millie who had texted me. It was. A small smile tugged at my lips. I really wanted to text her back.

* * *

From: Millie  
3/6/2007 5:45 p.m.

Sorry, in class. Yay! Congrats.

* * *

"Robert." My Dad's voice brought me out of my Millie-induced coma.

"Okay, okay." Sighing, I put my phone back in my pocket. At least my sisters weren't here because they'd really be bugging me. I sat back in my chair and waited for my parents to serve themselves before I did.

This evening was going to last forever.

As soon as I made it back to my apartment, I picked up my laptop and carried it to my bedroom. I got comfortable on my bed and settled in to write her back.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Tues, March 6, 2007 at 11:07 p.m.  
Subject: Maybe, before the Re:'s get too out of control, I'll change the subject

--

Millicent - now I have a good nickname for you although Millie fits you much better.

Thanks for the congrats. I am really excited about this film. I have to start getting my lines down because they want to start next week. The audition itself went really well, and I'm excited to work with everyone who's doing this project. They all seem like really cool guys to spend the next month or so working with. Speaking of, if I don't get to write you back relatively quickly don't take it personally, but I will try my best. I tend to get sucked into my work when I'm in the middle of it.

I've definitely never heard of Relient K. A Christian band huh? Why'd you put that word in quotes? I suppose by now you've been able to download their new release. Are you liking it? I hope it's as good as you were expecting it to be.

I like Van Morrison. I don't have much to say about him – I just know that I like his stuff.

I'm glad they don't make us wait until we're 21 to drink here. That would suck … I enjoy it too much to have to wait – especially because I'm not 21 yet.

And I was born May 13, 1986. When is your birthday?

And it's okay if you ask me more than one question, no matter how uncreative they might be. :P Besides it's not like we don't ask other questions in our e-mails anyway.

Today's RQ: Any pets? (See I can be just as uncreative as the next person.)

Robbie

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Wed, March 7, 2007 at 12:02 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Maybe, before the Re:'s get too out of control, I'll change the subject

--

Robbie, that's a great subject. It made me laugh, which I needed. It was another long day in studio. At least tomorrow (or should I say today) we're going on a little outing to the House of Swords by Luigi Moretti, by the Olympic Village. I'm excited!

I really am excited for you Rob. Maybe I can see the movie when it's done.

I completely understand getting sucked into work, especially with my having to focus on studio for the next couple of weeks. So I won't take it too personally if I don't hear from you. : )

The reason why I put Christian in quotes is because I hate that it gets separated from secular music. Believe me the stuff I listen to sounds so much like mainstream music, its just the lyrics – if you can understand them – aren't all about "inappropriate" things. And like I said about Relient K, there are other bands I listen to that have "crossed over", such as Switchfoot, P.O.D., MXPX, and a few other bands that you've probably also never heard of.

The new CD is quite spectacular, but I expect nothing less from Relient K. I normally never do this, but I zipped a couple of their songs for you and attached them. (I am a firm believer in everyone paying for the music they listen too.) I hope you can open it and that you like them.

You're not 21 yet? You're a baby … :P The underage drinking might not be such a problem if they lowered it, especially on college campuses.

My birthday is on February 2, so I just turned 22 – and celebrated in Paris, which was pretty cool if I do say so myself.

I have two labs. They're my baby boys, and I miss them so much right now. Even their bratty, annoying personalities they both seem to have. What about you?

The RQ (I like the initials …): Any brothers or sisters?

Your, Millicent

If you can't see me I'm sticking my tongue out at you.

* * *

I loved Millie's personality and the fact that she wasn't afraid to hold it back. I could easily picture her sticking her tongue out at me, what a pleasant picture to go to sleep with in my head.

* * *

I would love to know what you guys are thinking about this story.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Bologna is pronounced Ba-loan-ya … not Ba-loan-e … It's a city in Italy.

Okay so, I'm totally retarded and forgot that they already "talked" about why Millie wants to be an architect in the first chapter … oh well. LOL.

And if for some, sad reason this story disappears you can read it at my Web site, which should be listed in my profile since this is retarted and won't let me put a link to it, or at Twilighted.

* * *

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 4**

_March 7, 2007 – London, England _

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Wed, March 7, 2007 at 10:27 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Maybe, before the Re:'s get too out of control, I'll change the subject

--

I'm a little concerned that you're excited to see a place called the House of Swords. That sounds a little dangerous Millie.

It all depends whether or not the movie is released. Although, sometimes I do get a copy or two of the stuff I'm in. I can never watch them though. It's too weird watching yourself on a big screen … or little screen for that matter.

I was able to open the songs you sent and I listened to them. They're not so bad. That "Must Have Done Something Right" sure is catchy. *winks* Their music, what I've heard at least, sounds like your personality. Is that weird to say? … Oh, I don't know what I'm trying to say. So I'll move on.

You sound like my older sisters with the "baby" comment. I am not a baby. I'm a big _strong_ man, couldn't you tell? Well, maybe not so strong ....

Happy very, belated Birthday! Why'd you decide to go to Paris on your birthday?

I have a terrier, whose name is Patty. I think she may very well be the love of my life, but she lives with my parents so I don't see her very much. Dogs are great pets.

As mentioned above, I have two older sisters, Lizzy and Victoria. They live to be the bane of my existence. They aren't really that bad though. Do you have any siblings?

The RQ: Why do you want to be an architect?

Robbie

* * *

I had spent the morning looking over my lines after I wrote Millie back. A couple of my friends were going to be over in a while, and we were going to work on some songs. I would have to check my e-mail before they showed up because I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate until I knew whether or not she had written me back.

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Wed, March 7, 2007 at 11:45 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Maybe, before the Re:'s get too out of control, I'll change the subject

--

Oh, Robbie, there's nothing to worry about over the House of Swords. It was built for Mussolini because he was into fencing. Now it's a dumpy police station that needs some major work, which is unfortunate, because the photos of it in its hay day are gorgeous. I will never understand how people can neglect buildings that are such an important part of their country's history. So I'm kind of disappointed with that trip. *sighs*

So that brings me to my answer for the RQ … I want to be an architect because, I believe, it's the only art form that people can really experience with all of their senses. You can walk up to a building and touch the materials it's made out of; you can see the materials and the spaces that make up the building; you can hear the sounds that the building makes or the noises of its inhabitants echoing throughout; you can smell the air that circulates through it (like in a church you might smell incense); and, I suppose if you're really brave, (this one's a little questionable and silly) you could taste it … like walk up and lick a brick.

So that's why … I don't know there's just something about buildings that turn me on. When I was 11 or 12, I decided that I wanted to be an architect and that was it for me. When you study architecture, it really makes you appreciate the built world – even the ugly part of it.

I always hate watching the all of two home videos my parents have of me when I was younger. Awkward … and that must be a billion more times so when you're watching yourself not be yourself. If that makes sense. LOL.

I think what you were saying about RK sounding like my "personality" makes some sense. I do feel like they are the only band that truly writes music and lyrics that I can relate too; that make me feel something. They have some songs that if I listen to them in the right mood I will totally break down. I'm gonna attach one more song of theirs from the new CD – it's called "Deathbed". It's totally one of those songs. Matt Thiessen is a lyrical genius if I'm allowed to say so.

I totally know what it's like to be the baby! Hehe … I also have two older sisters, Maggie and Maisie (my parents had a thing for M - - - IE names if you couldn't tell). So I get the whole "bane of my existence" thing. They are good for advice though, which I am always in need of.

I went to Paris on my birthday because I could. A lot of people I'm here with went to Bologna* that weekend, and I wanted to do something, so some of the girls and I were like "Hey let's go to Paris!" It's pretty surreal to be able to say and do that. It was an enjoyable, whirlwind of a weekend (kind of like London), but we were able to see all of the main sites.

RQ: Why do you want to be an actor/musician?

Millie

Wow … that was a long one. :D BTW, thanks for the Happy Birthday.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Wed, March 7, 2007 at 1:03 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Maybe, before the Re:'s get too out of control, I'll change the subject

--

That's too bad the House of Swords wasn't all that you thought it would be.

I'd never thought of architecture that way. And please tell me that you have not actually licked a brick. That's just gross Millie. I can't imagine what it would be like to have known what I wanted to do since I was 11 or 12. Sometimes I think about what I'm doing now and whether or not it's really what I want to be doing.

Home videos are the worst. It kind of makes sense, but I tend to think I put a little of myself into every roll I do. So maybe that's why it is so weird to watch the movies I do. I don't know … and like I said before, that's kind of why I like _How to Be_ because I get to put more of myself into it than I would with any other character.

When music makes you feel something, that it's the best kind. I just listened to the track you sent, and I can hear why it would have that kind of affect on someone.

It's good to know I'm not alone in the world when it comes to having two older sisters.

So why do I want to do acting and music? Good question … especially because, like I mentioned earlier sometimes I wonder if it's really what I want to be doing. I'm much more comfortable doing music, and I think that's what I want to get into more so than acting even though I've done more with that. I just keep getting scripts that I like and then my agent bugs me to go out for them, which almost makes it feel more like an obligation.

Now I feel like I'm rambling …

Maybe one day you'll be able to get back to London and/or Paris and see more of them other then the main attractions. I know there is a lot of stuff in London you didn't get to see. : )

What is your favorite song?

Well, I've got to finish this up, some of my mates are coming over soon, and we're going to work on some songs.

Robbie

* * *

"What's this?" Sam was pointing at Millie's sketch that was taped up.

"It's a sketch." I replied with a complete "duh" tone to my voice. Sam was leaning in closer to observe it. I could tell he was reading the signature.

"Who's Millie?"

"Just this girl I met." I disappeared into my small kitchen. "Want a beer?" I didn't bother waiting for his answer and grabbed one for him.

"She cute?" He turned to look at me, and I handed him one of the bottles in my hand.

"Oh yeah." I smiled as Millie's face came into my mind.

"You gonna see her again?" He took a sip of his beer.

"Probably not," I sighed. That wasn't something I really wanted to think about because I wanted to see her again really badly. "She was just here for the weekend, visiting from Rome where she's studying for a bit."

"Well that's too bad." Sam set his drink down next to my computer and then moved to get his guitar out of its case before sitting on the couch. I grabbed my guitar off of its stand and sat down next to him. "When are Bobby and Marcus getting here?"

Just as he asked my front door flew open and the two came inside, joking around about something.

"Thanks for knocking." I rolled my eyes, and Bobby flipped me off.

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Wed, March 7, 2007 at 6:17 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Maybe, before the Re:'s get too out of control, I'll change the subject

--

No, I have not actually licked a brick, although it's tempting when I'm standing next to the Pantheon. Yum. That's kind of demented isn't it? Certainly it must show how devoted I am to my chosen profession … yes? Yes.

I'm sure everyone doubts what they've "decided" to do in life. You can never be too sure. I know I doubt it when I'm sitting in studio at all hours of the night about to pull my hair out because I can't seem to get it right or the fact that my list of things to do is a mile long. I have to remember that it'll be worth it when I get out and join the real world … at least I hope it will.

You should do what makes you happy Robbie, whether it's music or acting or both. I think as long as you feel at peace with your decision than you'll love doing it.

I do hope I can get back to those cities one day. My friends and I have planned a trip to Berlin Easter weekend. I am really exited about that and already have a list of buildings and structures I have to see while I am there.

Oh, my favorite song??? That's a tough one because it changes everyday. I guess … if I have to choose one, I usually say my all time favorite song is "Don't Worry Baby" by The Beach Boys. My Dad and I used to listen to that song like everyday when he'd take me to school.

Do you guys ever record what you do? Even if it's just a crappy recording, I'd like to hear your music sometime. : )

I need food.

Millie

* * *

"Robbie's in looovveee …"

It was later that night, and I was out with a group of friends for food and lots of drinking. Apparently Sam had already had too much to drink. I groaned.

"What?" My sister, Lizzy, shrieked. She put her drink down on the table glaring in my direction.

Who invited her? I put my head in my hands, rubbing my face. I needed something stronger to drink. I avoided the looks I was getting from the rest of the table as I stood up and went over to the bar. Unfortunately, it did not take very long for the barman to get my drink.

"Who is she?" Lizzy asked as soon as I sat back down.

"Her name is Millie," I gulped half of my drink. "She's studying in Rome and is from America."

Lizzy interrogated me for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I want to thank CrayonsCanMeltOnUsForAllICare for the best review ever – "I love relient k!" … For those of you who have not listened to them go and buy any song of theirs on iTunes they are fan-freaking-tastic!

And thanks to everyone else who has reviewed so far, you don't know how much it brightens my day to know that people are liking the story so far. It definitely makes me want to get chapters out to ya'll faster, but sometimes it's hard during the week to do just that … I'm gonna try my best though.

And, I'm going to start fast forwarding the story otherwise it could take forever to get to the good stuff. : D

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 5**

_Sunday, April 29, 2007 – Rome, Italy_

I couldn't believe it my time was up in Rome, and I was headed back to Texas for the summer. It was going to be an incredibly long day with an 11 hour flight to Atlanta, and then a two and a half hour flight to Dallas. When I booked the ticket, I had decided that I would not be traveling through any cities on this side of the ocean. I was done with Europe, well at least for the foreseeable future.

I had never been more excited in my life to go back home to Dallas, but for now I had another hour and a half to sit in the Leonardo da Vinci Airport before I'd take off. Thoughts of Rob crossed my mind, and I began to wonder if he'd be awake.

I dug through my backpack, which was fully packed, and found my cell phone at the bottom. It was going to have to go somewhere else. After scrolling through the numbers I had listed and stared at Rob's name for a while, I decided to call him.

It rang a couple of times and then I heard his groggy, British accent come through the line, "Hello?"

"Shouldn't you be awake by now Robbie?" I grinned even though he couldn't see me. I was so happy to talk to him and hear his voice for the first since we met almost two months before.

"Who is this?" He must have been thoroughly confused by the American accent coming over his line at 9:30 in the morning London time.

"It's Millie."

"Oh … hey … damn," Rob sounded a little frustrated. I could hear his sheets rustling around as he moved and pictured him buried underneath with his phone pressed to his ear. "Sorry, last night was killer."

"Drink much?" I had forgotten he was going out with some friends for a birthday thing.

"Don't remind me." He groaned.

"Awe …" I brought my feet up to my seat so my knees were bent up by my chin, and slouched down on the hard plastic chair a little. "Did you have fun?"

"It was lovely until the part where I had one too many shots." Rob answered. I laughed. "Where are you at?"

"The airport."

"Oh yeah, you go back to America today." It sounded like he sighed. I did have to agree with that sigh, because it meant we were going to be across an ocean and half a continent away from each other. The time difference was going to suck.

"That I do."

"Now you're absolutely sure you don't want to swing by London first?" I could hear the smile in his voice. It wasn't as if that thought hadn't crossed my mind, because it had on numerous occasions, but I had already bought my ticket home before we met.

"You know I want to Rob." This time it was my turn to sigh. I ran my hand through my hair to push it away from my face.

"I know." We had already discussed this in an e-mail or two.

"So what's on your agenda today?" I changed the subject.

"Recovery." I giggled at his answer.

"Well that sounds like a good plan. You have to tell me more about it." In our e-mails over the past month and a half I had learned that Rob was a good storyteller if he was asked for more details.

I settled into the hard seat more and listened to him talk about his group of friends and their antics the previous night. This was so much better than an e-mail. I let Rob talk for a while, commenting when appropriate, and then he changed the subject.

"What's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?"

"Other then see my parents and sisters?" I thought about it. "I think I'll see if they will get me some food from Chick-fil-a."

"What's that?" Rob questioned.

"It's a fast food chicken place. I _love_ it," I answered my mouth watering at the thought of eating there again. "They have really good sandwiches and wraps. Plus their ad campaign is too cute."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh-huh," I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "It's cows. They always have clever signs with misspelled words, with sayings like 'Eat More Chicken'. You should Google it and see. It always makes me laugh."

"You're crazy Millie."

"You don't have to tell me that." I rested my forehead against my knees. "Hmmm … I wish I was home already."

"You'll be there before you know it," Rob replied softly. "And soon enough it'll feel like you never even went to Rome."

"I know. It already went so fast. I just got here, I just went to Paris, I just went to Florence, I just went to London …" I trailed off. "I wonder why time has to move so fast, especially when you're older. It's like I turn around and it's already six months later."

"That it does." He agreed. "Did you enjoy it and learn a lot?"

"Of course I enjoyed it and learned a lot. It's been an amazing experience that I wouldn't change for anything. Ya know? Rome was the one place in the world I really wanted to go to, and I got to see so much more than Rome."

"And you got to meet me."

"And I got to meet you." I smiled. "That was totally the highlight of my trip to London."

"What about the Parliament?"

"Hmm … well now that you've reminded me about the Parliament," I teased. Rob made a snorting noise over the phone. "You know I love you." I surprised myself with those words.

"Yeah, yeah … sure you do." He teased back and then said quietly, "I'm glad you called me Millie. It's really cool to hear your voice."

"It's really nice to hear your's too." I couldn't help but smile and switched the cell phone to my other ear. I really did like hearing him speak that must have been his accent's doing.

"What time is your flight again?" Rob asked.

"It's at 11," I answered and looked at my watch. "We'll probably be boarding soon." We had already been talking for 45 minutes or so. The seating by the gate was a lot more crowded than it was when I had sat down.

"Well I'll let you go then." It sounded like he didn't really want to hang up. I didn't want to either, but it was probably for the best.

"Okay …" I could feel a pout forming.

"Text me when you land, okay?" He asked.

"I can do that." I nodded. "Thanks for keeping me entertained for a while."

"Anytime Millie."

"That's good to know. Bye Robbie."

"Bye Millicent …" I could just picture an evil grin on his face when he said that. I really wished I could stick my tongue out at him. "I've been wanting to say that all morning." He chuckled.

"You suck." I laughed.

"All right … bye _Millie_." Rob exaggerated my name this time.

"Bye." I was still giggling when I hung up the phone with him and turned it off. I know I was getting looks from a few people who were around me. I couldn't help it though, Rob brought out the extra girly side of me, and he was definitely one of the best things to come out of studying abroad for me.

I put my phone away, sticking it in the front pocket of my backpack, just in time for the flight to start boarding. I knew the next several hours were going to drag on forever, and I definitely was not looking forward to the jet lag.

The flight dragged on, and I couldn't sleep like I had planned on doing so that only made it worse. After I landed in Atlanta and made it through customs, I found the gate for my flight to Dallas and sat down to text Rob. I was exhausted, considering it was after midnight in Rome and after 11 p.m. in London.

I knew Rob would be up so I sent him a quick text.

* * *

From: Millie  
4/29/2007 6:35 p.m.

I'm in Atlanta. It feels so good to be back in the States. : )

* * *

He replied back a few minutes later.

* * *

From: Rob  
4/29/2007 6:39 p.m.

I'm glad you made it safe.

* * *

From: Millie  
4/29/2007 6:41 p.m.

Me too. Night Robbie.

* * *

From: Rob  
4/29/2007 6:45 p.m.

Night Millicent. : P

* * *

From: Millie  
4/29/2007 6:47 p.m.

Punk!

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Thank you guys for the continuing feedback. I (heart) it very much.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 6**

_Sunday, May 13, 2007 – London, England_

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Sun, May 13, 2007 at 2:43 a.m.  
Subject: It's your birthday!

--

Well it's only before 9 p.m. on the 12th where I'm at, but I figured it's gotta be the 13th where you are. So Happy Birthday Robbie! I hope you have a good day and stay out of trouble especially because it's your 21st. :P

Oh, so I just remembered something about my art class in middle school, which is probably the only thing I remember about that class, we watched a video with Dali in it and that man was weird! I can't picture you playing him in a movie, but I'm sure you'll do great. How is all of your research going?

I am so bored. That's the crappy thing about summer vacation … it's exciting for the first three weeks and then after that it's like "I can go back to school now!" I think a lot of it has to do with I was so on the go when I was over there, and now I'm doing nothing. I'm going to have to get some books to read. Any suggestions?

I moved into Maisie's apartment today. I'm pretty excited about that. It'll be nice to be out of my parents' house, at least until I go back to Arkansas in the Fall. It should be fun – except when the boyfriend's over, then I'll just have to hide in my room to avoid witnessing that. They're pretty pathetic.

The good news is I think I've finally gotten over my jet lag. It's definitely worse coming back to the States then going over there. Guh.

Millie

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson  
To: Millie millie_mae_  
Date: Sun, May 13, 2007 at 10:32 a.m.  
Subject: Re: It's your birthday!

--

Thanks for the birthday wishes. When have you known me to get into trouble? I actually don't plan on getting into any, at least not until I go out with my friends later tonight. I have to spend the day with my parents and sisters. I wonder what kind of torture they'll put me through this afternoon. Maybe they'll be nice to me because it's my birthday. Doubt it …

My research is going. I'm reading a lot of interesting things about Dali, but yeah he was a little out of it, so to speak. Clearly he must have left some sort of impression on you if that is the only thing you remember from your art class. I'm excited about portraying him especially after reading everything I have. It should be fun.

It does suck sitting around doing nothing after you've been busy for a few months. That's why my mates and I started working on music. It gives us something to do when we aren't acting.

Do I have any book suggestions? I might have to get back to you on that one. I'm so preoccupied with _Little Ashes_ right now. I could give you a list of books on Dali to read. *haha*

I forgot you had mentioned moving in with your sister. I'm sure you will survive her and her boyfriend. (Are they really that bad?)

How much older are your sisters then you, by the way?

I always thought getting used to the time in the States was a little rough when I've been over there on holiday. I'm glad you've got used to the time again. I will admit that the time difference sucks for writing to you, but we'll have to make do.

I better be off. I'm supposed to be at my parents in an hour and I've got a few things to do on the way.

Robbie

* * *

"Hey are you still talking to that girl?" Lizzy asked as she sat down on one of the chairs across from me. It was like she had just remembered the whole conversation we had back in March, but I knew she had just been waiting to pull it out at the most inopportune moment – like now.

"What girl?" Victoria looked over at me from where she was standing at the counter helping my Mom with my birthday dinner. My sisters really do live to torture me, and Mum was looking at me expectantly.

"Thanks a lot Lizzy …" I glared at her. Now it really was too late to escape from the kitchen.

"No problem." She grinned reaching for a cookie my Mom had set on the table for us.

"Yes I'm still talking to her, and her name is Millie.

"Do we get to meet her?" Mum sounded a little too excited as she asked this.

"No." I answered shortly. It's not like I didn't want them to meet Millie, which wasn't something I had considered yet, but it was pretty impossible considering she was almost 5,000 miles away, and I didn't even know if I would ever get to see her again.

"Why not?" My Mom was disappointed at that answer.

"Because she lives in the U.S.," Lizzy answered for me. I could tell that Mum and Victoria were even more curious with that last comment. There was no avoiding it now. I shook my head and pushed a hand through my hair.

"I met Millie at the beginning of March when she was here for a weekend." I sighed, "She was studying in Rome for the semester but she's back home now. We've been keeping in touch."

"Well that's nice love," Mum said. "What is she studying?"

"Architecture," I answered. Oh, happy birthday to me, we'd hit 20 questions now. Where was Dad when I needed him?

* * *

From: Millie millie_mae_  
To: Rob Pattinson  
Date: Sun, May 13, 2007 at 3:51 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

I think you could be a troublemaker in disguise. I'm on to you Mr. Pattinson. *winks*

You should tell your sisters that if they aren't nice to you I'm gonna come over and beat them up. (I would only do that for you.)

I'm very sad that you don't have any good suggestions for books. I guess I'll have to go to Barnes and Nobles today and wander the aisles aimlessly. Not that that is such a horrible thing. I like wandering aimlessly through bookstores it's such a relaxing thing to do, and the smell of new books and coffee together – me likey.

Maybe I'll see if there's a good Dali book while I'm there.

Maisie and Steven really are _that_ bad. They're always all over each other and mushy-mushy. It makes me want to gag. (If I ever get like that you have my permission to knock me upside the head.)

At least tonight will be boy free (not that all boys are bad, because you're a pretty cool dude) – Maggie's ditching her husband and coming over, and Maisie's kicking Steven out, and we're going to watch movies and eat lots of pizza. I can't wait.

To answer your question, Maisie is eight years older and Maggie is 10 years older. I've always had it in the back of my mind that I wasn't exactly "planned" with how much older they are then me. I know a lot of that comes from the things Maggie and Maisie used to tell me when I was growing up, and I would inevitably end up in tears running to my parents. They were so mean!

The time difference does blow, but we're not doing too bad so far.

I'm sure by now you are with your family celebrating your birthday. : ) I better actually get out of bed before Maisie comes running in here.

Millie

Oh, Robbie … would you do something for me? Pretty please? There is a song I heard in Rome a few times and I really liked it, but I can't get it with my iTunes. It's called _Starz in Their Eyes_ by Just Jack – I know he's a British artist so you should be able to get it. I will love you forever if you do that for me. : )

* * *

I had to stop by my flat to drop off the stuff my parents and sisters had gotten me before I met up with my friends for the fun part of my day. I was already running a little late to meet them, but decided to check my post. It had been a few days since I had and I wasn't expecting anything, but was surprised to find an envelope with Millie's name and address in the top left corner.

This must have been why she was bugging me for my address after she had gotten back home. I ran up the steps quickly, and once I got inside and tossed my stuff down on the couch I tore open the white envelope.

Inside there was a birthday card with a picture of a dog wearing a birthday hat; it was totally her personality. Millie had stuck a copy of one of the pictures of the two of us inside. I sighed, she was so beautiful.

_"Congrats on finally being legal!!! (Well in the U.S.)_

_I wish I was there because then we could celebrate your 21st American-Style. I owe you a shot, or a beer, or a whole night's worth._

_And I'm so happy I met you while I was over there. I know I already shared that with you, but I thought I would remind you again. That night is always on my mind._

_I hope you have a good birthday._

_With Love,_  
_Millie"_

Millie's words just made my whole day, and I was going to have to hold her to the night of free drinks, and I hoped I would be able too. I stuck the picture back inside the card as I headed to the bedroom, and after placing the card on my bedside table, I headed back out to meet up with my friends.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **It's a short, short one, but I don't think there was much more I could have done with this one.

What happened to all my feedback? :'(

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 7**

_Sunday, May 13, 2007 – Frisco (Dallas), Texas_

After I sent Rob the usual morning e-mail, I crawled out of bed, got ready for the day and headed over to the Barnes and Noble at Stonebriar Mall. When I got there, I made my way to the architecture section to see if they had any new architecture books.

I found a couple to look through and then wandered to the Starbucks for coffee and to flip through the books. There were a few buildings in both that caught my eye, so I made a mental note to check out the architects who had designed them because there were a few I had never heard of.

After I finished my coffee and put the architecture books back, I wandered over to the Young Adult section remembering that one of my favorite authors, Sarah Dessen, always had a new release in the Spring. There was a new book. I didn't even bother reading the synopsis before I started to walk away to see if there was anything new by Jane Green.

On my way down the aisle, another book caught my eye. I picked up the book that had pale hands holding an apple below its title, Twilight. I read the summary on the jacket and decided that even though I normally wouldn't read a book involving vampires, I would give it a shot because it didn't sound half bad.

I decided to leave before I spent any more money that I didn't need to. I paid for the two books and then walked out to my car before going back to Maisie and mine's apartment.

Maisie was cleaning when I walked in.

"Find anything good?" She looked up from dusting the television screen off.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Maggs is coming over about six."

"Cool," I nodded. "I'm going to unpack and get settled." I walked down the short hall and into my new bedroom. There were several boxes I had to unpack so after turning on my stereo, I dove right in.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson gmail [dot] com )  
To: Millie ( millie_mae_85 gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Sun, May 13, 2007 at 8:15 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

I probably shouldn't be writing to you write now, considering that I definitely got into trouble tonight, but I wanted to let you know I got your card. You are too much Miss Millie, and I am holding you to the free drinks you've promised me. I think it's safe to say that tonight lived up to any standards there might be for a 21st Birthday. I'm going to be feeling it in a few hours.

I'm going to wait until I'm in a better state to properly answer your e-mail, but "Starz in Their Eyes"? Seriously Millie, that has to be one of the worst songs ever.

Now where's my aspirin.

Robbie

* * *

"So Millie, you got a boyfriend yet?" Maggie asked as she bit into another piece of pizza. I knew my face had turned red at that question because I immediately thought of Rob even though he was by no means my boyfriend.

"Ooo … who is he?" Maisie asked plopping back down on the chair she was sitting on with a full glass of wine.

"Just this guy," I leaned back against couch. I had been done with my dinner for a while now.

"Mills, you have to give us more than that." Maggie shook her head and reached for her own glass of wine with her free hand.

"There really isn't a whole lot to say about him," I shrugged. "Besides he isn't my boyfriend anyway." They both looked disappointed when I said that. The two of them had always had way too much of an interest in my love life.

"You obviously like whoever this guy is, so why aren't you dating?" Maisie never failed to get straight to the point. I rolled my eyes.

"Because he lives in London."

"What?" Maggie screeched. I knew she wouldn't like that fact.

"Relax Maggie." It was Maisie's turn to roll her eyes. "So he's British?" I nodded. "Well, how'd you meet him?" She reached for a piece of chocolate that was on the coffee table.

"When I was in London," I answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world because, well, it was. Maggie and Maisie just stared back at me blankly, urging me to continue on. I really did want to talk about Rob, but it was too much fun messing with them.

"I was sketching the Houses of Parliament, I saw him walk by once, and I was still there when he came back the other direction. I guess he caught me staring at him because he came over and we started talking." A day did not go by where I didn't relive that night in my head. I was getting really attached to a man I'd probably never see again.

"He took me to a little pub for dinner," I sighed. "It was pretty perfect." I could just see them swooning. The two were suckers for stories like this. "We write each other now."

"Oh my God …" Maisie squealed. "That is so sweet!"

"He sounds like a keeper," Maggie added. She must have gotten over the fact that he lived in London.

"Rob is," I agreed. Rob really was someone I wanted to keep around.

* * *

From: Millie ( millie_mae_85 gmail [dot] com )  
To: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinsongmail [dot] com )  
Date: Mon, May 14, 2007 at 12:02 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

I'm glad you got my card. Feel better!

And it is not. : P

Millie

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Thanks for reading and adding me to your favorites. :D

Just a reminder, incase something happens to the story you can read it at Twilighted [dot ] net or at http:// www [dot] n-outsync [dot] net [slash] stories [slash] rawtf [slash]

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 8**

_Monday, May 14, 2007 – London, England_

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson [at] gmail [dot] com )  
To: Millie ( millie_mae_85 [at] gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Mon, May 14, 2007 at 11:41 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

I'm really feeling that trouble Millie. If I go out drinking ever again remind me of this moment I'm in now. Guh.

Glad to know someone's on my side when it comes to saving me from my sisters. They actually weren't too bad yesterday though. So I had a decent time with my parents and them for my birthday. I got a couple of books and some guitar strings. Now when I'll get to read them I don't know.

Did you find anything good during your trip to the bookstore yesterday?

I don't think I can picture you being "mushy-mushy" as you put it, nor could I knock you upside the head if you ever were. That would not be very gentlemanly of me to do that to you now would it? : )

How was hanging out with your sisters? Did you watch any good movies?

Oh, I used to get that from my sisters too when they weren't dressing me up like a doll. It must be in some big sister "handbook" to torture your younger sibling. Victoria's only five years older then me and Lizzy is three so we're a lot closer in age then you, Maggie and Maisie.

Really Millie? _Starz in Their Eyes_. I thought you had better taste in music than that. But for you, and because you said you'd love me forever I bought the song and have attached it. I hope you can open it and listen till your heart's content. *shakes head*

I have so much to do before I go to Spain this weekend. I've got an apartment there now, which is good because I was starting to wonder. They took forever to let me know about it. So that's taken care of and now I've got a million more things to do.

I guess I should suck up this hangover and actually start my day.

Robbie

* * *

I really did have a lot to do this week before I headed to Spain to start filming _Little Ashes_. I was looking forward to living there for a couple of months because I hadn't spent much time there. So after I sent that e-mail to Millie and popped a few more aspirin, I grabbed my dirty laundry and one of the books I was reading on Dali and headed down the street to the Laundromat.

I was happy to see that there were several machines not in use so I wouldn't have to wait. I threw all of my clothes into one washer, dumped some soap into it, set the water temperature to cold and then sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs to read my book while my clothes washed.

* * *

From: Millie ( millie_mae_85 [at] gmail [dot] com )  
To: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson [at] gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Mon, May 14, 2007 at 4:02 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

I wish you didn't feel so poopy. I'll try and remember to remind you about it. Welcome to the 21st Birthday Club. Maybe now you know why I don't drink to get drunk anymore. : )

I found a couple of novels to read. So I'm going to start on one today. I don't know which one though … maybe I'll go for the Sarah Dessen book first because I consider her one of my favorite authors. And the other one is some book with vampires in it, which I don't ever read, but I thought I should give it a shot.

Hopefully you'll find some time to read the books you got for your birthday. You should have some time off while you're in Spain. Right? Speaking of Spain, that's good you have a place to stay. It probably wouldn't be much fun to live on the streets there.

I suppose it wouldn't be very nice of you to knock me upside the head. We'll have to come up with another solution to that insanity known as mushy-mushy. *thinks*

Last night was good. We watched some girly movies and we talked about girly stuff so I won't bore you with those details.

Ooo … I want pictures! I bet they had fun with you especially because you are the little brother.

Maybe we should search out this handbook so we could get into the minds of our older sisters. It just might come in handy someday.

The song works! YAY! I do have better taste in music than that … I can't help it if the song is extra catchy and the only way I can get rid of it is to listen to it. Now I can officially love you forever. Thanks Robbie.

So what exciting things did you do today in the lovely city of London?

Millie

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson [at] gmail [dot] com )  
To: Millie ( millie_mae_85 [at] gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Mon, May 14, 2007 at 6:29 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

I guess I could see why you wouldn't drink for that reason anymore. Sadly a reminder probably still wouldn't stop me. Maybe I have a problem?

So now what kind of books does Sarah Dessen write? You seem like you'd read girly books. Am I right? Especially after the whole "I don't read books about vampires" comment, what made you pick that book up?

Living on the streets definitely would not be a good thing. I'm sure if I had to they would have put me up in a hotel. Apartments are just more comfortable. I am looking forward to spending some time in Barcelona because I haven't been there before, and it'll be nice if they give us some free time so I can see some of the sites.

Thanks for sparing me.

I don't think you'll be seeing any pictures of what Victoria and Lizzy did to me. I don't even know if there are any. I hope not … that could be bad.

I washed my clothes and went to my agent's office. Yup, definitely not too exciting which is just fine after last night.

You're welcome for the song Millie.

Rob

* * *

From: Millie ( millie_mae_85 [at] gmail [dot] com )  
To: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson [at] gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Mon, May 14, 2007 at 10:37 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

The first step in realizing you have a problem is to admit it. I think as long as you aren't out every night you'll be okay.

Sarah Dessen writes books for teenage girls. I still read some teeny books, but they're so good! And you're right: I do like what is often called "chick-lit." There are two authors from England whose books I have read, Jane Green and Sophie Kinsella/Madeline Wickham.

So the vampire book is definitely a new one for me, but if I remember correctly from the synopsis I believe its some sort of romance too. We'll see – I'll keep you posted.

Let's see – when you're in Barcelona, you have to go see the Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi, and the Barcelona Pavilion by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Mies is one of my favorite architects. The Pavilion is a reconstruction of the original but it is still a pretty cool building.

I wish I could have gotten out to Barcelona when I was over there, but it didn't happen. One more place to add to the list of must sees. It is supposed to a fantastic place for architecture.

Darn … I'm disappointed that there aren't any pictures.

I bet you're one of those guys who just stuffs everything into one machine and calls it a day. Am I right?

How long are you supposed to be in Spain for? I'm guessing it'll be kind of like when you were doing _How to Be_ and I didn't get to hear from you much? : (

Millie

* * *

I wished Millie was still in Rome. I bet she would have come up to Barcelona and we could have seen each other again. It sucked that I met such a great girl and then she has to live over in the U.S. Life was not fair.

I knew I was going to be really busy while I was filming, but I would do the best I could to keep e-mailing her everyday. There was no way I was going to lose track of Millie.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson [at] gmail [dot] com )  
To: Millie ( millie_mae_85 [at] gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Tues, May 15, 2007 at 12:12 a.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's your birthday!

--

It's good to know I'll be okay. ; )

You know I think one of my sisters reads books by those authors. The names seem really familiar, like I've seen the books around at one of their flats or something.

Thanks for the suggestions of sites to see. You know you can always come back over here and we could see them together. Just a suggestion …

You've got me there with the laundry. Why waist all that time separating when you can toss it all into one machine and be done in an hour instead of a day long project? Plus I hate doing laundry.

I'm supposed to be in Spain for a couple of months. Don't worry though I'm going to write to you as much as I can. I don't plan on losing touch with you anytime soon.

Sorry for the sad and pathetic response, but I'm just really sleepy all of a sudden. I'll catch ya tomorrow.

Robbie

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** I'm thinking my posting schedule is going to be Thursday and Sunday from now on. So that's when you guys should see new chapters. It's easiest for me to post then with working full-time and not fun stuff like that.

I'm glad to know a few of you are still enjoying the story. :D Here's a longer one.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 9**

_Sunday, July 30, 2007 – Frisco (Dallas), Texas_

I had decided to get a job for the summer to keep the boredom at bay and so far that had been a good plan. It was always good to have something to do. My manager had sent me home early for the day because the bookstore had been slow. I was getting closer to my apartment when my cell phone beeped signaling that I had a text message.

I dug it out of my purse as I pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot. It was Rob.

* * *

From: Rob  
7/30/2007 4:17 p.m.

You busy?

* * *

It must have been after 10 wherever he was. I wrote him back after I had parked and before I got out of my SUV.

* * *

To: Rob  
7/30/2007 4:20 p.m.

Nope.

* * *

When I got inside Maisie and mine's apartment, the phone beeped again. I said hello to Maisie and Steven who were sitting in the living room watching TV and then headed into my room so I could text Rob back.

I flopped down onto my bed and read his next text.

* * *

From: Rob  
7/30/2007 4:24 p.m.

Call me?

* * *

I was happy to oblige that request.

"What's up?" I asked when he answered.

"Well I'm back in London, so I thought I'd call to chat."

"Are you happy to be home?" I rolled over onto my stomach and rested my chin on my hand that wasn't holding the cell phone. On my bookcase slash night table I had set a frame with one of the pictures of Rob and me in. It was good to be able to put a face to the voice; if only it was the real thing.

"Definitely," he replied. "I now understand the whole it's nice to hear English thing."

I laughed. "So when did you get home?"

"Wednesday," Rob answered.

"And you haven't e-mailed me yet?" I pouted.

"I know … I meant to. I was really tired and then I had a lot of unexpected things to do. So that's my pathetic excuse."

"I suppose I can forgive you." I sighed.

"Besides a phone call's better than an e-mail any day."

"This is true." I nodded even though he couldn't see me. This was only the second time we had talked on the phone so I wasn't going to disagree with that. I had forgotten how fantastic his voice was.

"So how is your job going?"

"It's goin'. I got off early today, which is why I wasn't busy. I'm enjoying it and it beats sitting around the apartment all day long, checking my e-mail every two seconds."

"Millie!" Maisie shouted as my bedroom door flew open, and she came barging into the room. I glared at her. "Oh sorry," she said a little quieter when she saw me on the phone.

"Hold on Rob," I moved the phone away from my mouth. "What do you want?"

"Ooo … you're talking to British boy?" She perked up. I don't know when, but somewhere in the last couple of weeks Maggie and Maisie had started referring to Rob as "British boy".

"Maisie!" I hissed covering the mouthpiece with my hand. Maisie rolled her eyes and then got to the reason she came barreling into the room in the first place.

"Steve and I are getting Chinese. You want in?"

I nodded. "Just get me Lo Mein and a spring roll – not an egg roll."

"Got it." Maisie turned to walk out of the room and then said really loudly, "Bye British boy!"

I closed my eyes and buried my face in the comforter. I could hear Rob laughing over the phone line. I was glad he couldn't see how red my face was.

"Your sisters know about me? I feel special …"

"Don't let it go to your head." I teased picking my head up so my voice wouldn't be muffled. He chuckled. "You may or may not have come up in a conversation or two with them." I reluctantly admitted. "What can I say my sisters are noisy and they are so good at getting stuff out of me?"

"Lizzy and Victoria too."

"Ooo, really? Do they know about me?" My curiosity got the best of me.

"Mmmm …. May--be." Rob dragged his answer out. "Now don't let it go your head Millie." He threw my words right back at me.

"I'll try not to." I giggled, biting my lower lip trying to keep my smile at bay. I couldn't help but be happy that he had talked about me with his sisters. "So what did you get caught up with when you got home?"

"My agent in L.A. sent me some scripts." Rob answered.

"Really? Does that mean you're coming out here?" I couldn't help but be excited about the prospect.

"I don't know yet. I think I just want to take a break for now and maybe focus more on music for a while."

"Oh, well if that's what you want to do than you should. What were some of the movies anyway?"

Rob rattled off a few different plots and then when he got to the last one, I really got interested. It was Twilight. I had absorbed that book in less than a week and then I bought the second, New Moon, reading it just as quickly. I was looking forward to the third book in the series to come out in another week.

"Remember the vampire book I read?" I cut him off midway through his retelling the plot line of the movie.

"Uh, sure." I could tell he was thinking about where I was going with this.

"That's the book!" I was excited because I had no idea it was going to be a movie.

"Well that's cool," Rob stated. "Pretty coincidental."

"What part would it be for?"

"Edward, I guess." I could see him shrugging.

"You should go for it." I rolled over onto my back and stared at the white ceiling. "I think you'd be a good Edward." Rob made a noise of disagreement. "You would be." I reiterated.

"You've never even seen a movie I've been in. How can you be so sure?"

"I You Tubed the clips of you in _Harry Potter_." I admitted and he laughed. "What? I was curious. Hold on a second …" I set the phone down and sat up so I could grab a hair tie that was sitting on my bookcase. My neck was getting hot and I needed to pull my hair back.

"Sorry," I said as I put the phone back to my ear. "I just had to pull my hair back."

"You really think I should try out?" Rob asked.

"Why not?" I asked him, moving so I was leaning against my pillows.

"I don't know," he paused. "It seems kind of daunting. I mean, just with the way he's described … it's like, there's no way I can be that."

"Oh, sure you can," I said. "They'll, you know, put a little makeup on you, comb your hair … and you'll be gorgeous." Not that he wasn't already very nice looking. I glanced back at the picture of the two of us, picturing him rolling his eyes. "You should at least think about it."

"I will."

"Good because then you can come visit me in Arkansas or Texas." I really wanted him to audition, not just because I liked the books, but because then we could see each other again.

"I guess that would be a benefit."

"You guess? Robbie don't you want to see me?"

"Millie …"

"Hmm?" I hummed out.

"Of course I do," Rob sighed. "A lot." And then he changed the subject. We talked awhile longer and then Maisie stuck her head through my door again, waving my food.

"Dinnertime," I climbed off of my bed, still holding my phone and grabbed the bag out of Maisie's hand. She smiled and headed back down the hallway to where Steven was. "What time is it there?" I asked Rob, knowing it was getting late where he was.

"Just after 11," he answered. "Do you need to go?"

"I should, but I really don't want to," I stated. I had to follow Maisie so I could get some silverware to eat my food with. "If you don't mind listening to me eat … unless you're tired."

"Nope, not tired."

"K." I pulled open the drawer that had our silverware in it and grabbed a fork. Steven and Maisie were sitting at the counter watching me with huge grins on their faces. "Hey Robbie, I'm going to set you down again for a sec, so I can get a drink."

"Sure."

I set the phone down on the counter, not even thinking about Maisie grabbing it, and the next thing I knew she had it up to her mouth.

"Hi British boy!" Her voice rang through the small kitchen and over the phone line.

"Maisie!" I shrieked and reached across the counter for it. She moved just out of reach and then grabbed at my hands, batting them out of the way. Steven was completely amused by all of this. "Give it back!" I was pretty sure Rob was laughing too.

"Want to know something embarrassing about Millie?" She asked Rob. "You do …" Maisie looked at me with an evil grin on her face. "I have to think of a really good one …"

"Don't … Maisie!" I reached across the counter again and then looked over at Steven. "Steven help!"

"Uh-uh … I'm staying out of this." He held up one hand and shoveled a forkful of broccoli into his mouth with the other.

"So when she was walking across the stage at –" I pulled myself up onto the counter and grabbed the phone away from her before she could say anymore.

"Awe, come on," Maisie pouted.

"I hate you Maisie," I said bringing the phone back to my ear and hopping off of the counter. Rob was laughing.

"Millie, I wanna know," Rob's voice came over the line.

"No."

"Please?" I knew he was pouting. I grabbed the fork and my food again, forgetting about getting a drink and went back to my room. I could hear Maisie telling Steven the rest of the story and then their laughing.

"Maybe later." I sat down on my bed and put the phone on speaker so it would be easier to eat. "Are your sisters that evil?"

"Yes." Rob answered as I opened up the container that held my noodles. "I'm really curious now."

"I'm sure you are." I smiled, twirling the noodles on my fork and bringing it up to my mouth. "Like I said, maybe later." I spoke through my food.

"So rude Millie." I knew he was smiling.

"You said it was okay if we chatted while I ate my food," I pouted. Our conversation lasted through my meal and for some time after, until I heard him yawning. "You're tired Rob, I'm gonna let you go."

"Okay," he sighed. "I wish we could talk more Millie."

"Me too," I agreed. "Maybe we could make a phone date once a month or something?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll talk to you soon. Have a good night Millie."

"You too Rob. Bye."

"Bye."

An hour and a half, my phone bill was going to suck when I got it next month, but it was worth it. I took my empty take-out container and dirty fork back into the kitchen. Maisie and Steven were curled up on the couch, making out. I was secretly thankful for that because I did not want to put up with whatever Maisie would dish out, especially after her stunt in the kitchen.

I tossed my fork in the sink and the container into the trash and then disappeared into my room for the rest of the night. I replayed everything Rob said on the phone over and over in my head as I sat down to write him an e-mail.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** I promise you guys will love me very soon, but I might need to sleep with one eye open for this one

I want some feedback! Thanks for reading ya'll.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 10**

_Friday, October 26, 2007 – Los Angeles, California_

I had finally made it out to Los Angeles through the persuasion of both my agent and Millie. Millie had bugged me to no end about trying out for _Twilight_. I was on my way to meet with the director Catherine Hardwicke and the actress who was going to play Bella, Kristen Stewart, not only because of Millie's seemed obsession with the books, but because I thought it would be a fun film to do. I still believed I had no chance of actually getting the part, but at least I could say I tried.

I was also thoroughly disappointed because Millie and I weren't going to be able to see each other while I was here. I had decided at the last minute to fly out to L.A. and because of that as soon as I was finished here I had to fly back home for my parents' big anniversary party on Sunday and Millie was in the middle of her semester for school so she couldn't come out here. It just wasn't going to happen this time around.

I flipped through the script again going to the scene Catherine said she wanted me to read through with Kristen. I had it just about memorized, but you could never be too sure. After a couple more minutes, the car stopped in front of what I assumed was Catherine's house because that was where I was supposed to meet them.

Collecting my thoughts, I thanked the driver and stepped out of the car. Here goes nothing. I was nervous as hell.

It didn't take long for the front door to open after I rung the bell.

"Hello," I smiled. "I'm Rob Pattinson."

"Come in, come in." She waved me inside. "I'm Catherine and this is Kristen." She closed the door behind me as I stepped inside.

"Nice to meet you," Kristen held out her hand for me to shake.

"You too," I nodded as I took her hand in mine.

"Should we get started?" Catherine asked. Kristen and I both agreed.

It was late when I got back to the hotel I was staying in for one more night. The audition had been incredible and I couldn't wait to share my news with Millie. I knew she would be thrilled. I sat down on the bed and when I looked at my phone, there was a voicemail.

"Hi Robbie … its Millie," she didn't sound like her usual happy self. "Today was really crappy, and I wish I could see you. So umm, call me when you get this. I don't care how late it is." Millie sighed. "Talk to you later."

I called her back.

"Hi Millie," I said when she answered her phone. "You okay?"

"No." I could hear her pout over the phone.

"Awe love …" I surprised myself when that term of endearment came out of my mouth. I scooted over to my pillows and lay down. "What was so bad about today?" I didn't mind listening to her vent about her day. I was happy that she was comfortable enough with me to talk about it.

"I got shot down by the profs today during mid reviews for my project. I've been working so hard on it and its all been shot to hell. I just don't understand why they do that, we've only got a few weeks left before finals and now I've got to start all over. It's just so frustrating."

"Sounds like it," I responded. "I'm sure you can do it though."

"I guess," she let out a big breath of air. "It's just going to be hell this next month. So if you don't hear from me until Christmas vacation you know why."

It was quiet for a moment and then her voice came back over the line. "I hate that we're on the same continent and we can't see each other."

"Me too," I agreed. I wanted to cheer her up and I was pretty confident that my news would do that. "So I have so good news."

"You do? What's that?" The tone of her voice changed as she asked.

"Guess who's going to be Edward." I said with a playful tone in my voice.

"You?" Millie half-squealed her response. I chuckled at her excitement. "Robbie that's awesome, I am super happy for you, you have to tell me all about it …" She let out all of those words in one breath.

"Well the audition," I started, "was at Catherine's house. She's the director, Kristen the girl who's going to be Bella was there too. We did the scene where Edward and Bella are on her bed, and we just clicked. It was really crazy the chemistry between Kristen and me."

"Oh, well that's nice." Was it just me or was there a hint of jealousy in her words? I was not going to read into it, but if there was it kind of got me excited. "So what else happened?"

I recounted just about every detail I could remember and ended by telling her how excited I was about the whole thing.

"I can tell." She responded. "When does it all start?"

"We start shooting at the beginning of February. So I was thinking I'd go up to Washington or wherever and hide out for a couple of months after Christmas to get ready for it."

"I'm really proud of you Robbie. All that paranoia over nothing. I told you you'd make a good Edward."

"You've always got to be right don't you?" I was smiling.

"Of course." I could just see her beautiful smile over the phone. "That's how I like it."

"Everybody likes to be right Millie." I laughed.

"Well duh …"

"Are you in a better mood now?" I asked.

"I was until you had to go and remind me. Geez Rob." She sighed, teasingly. "I really am happy for you though. Want to come to Arkansas and celebrate?" Millie sounded hopeful.

"I do, you don't know how much I do," I sighed running a hand through my hair. "But now the studio has eight million things for me to do before I can even get back to London. So I'm going to miss my parents' thing on Sunday."

"Mmm …" Millie sighed. "Why do we have to live so far away from each other?"

"Well just think about this – Washington and Oregon are a lot closer to you than London is. We'll be able to see each other."

"Promise?"

"Promise." There was no way I was going to spend three months or however long this was going to last in the U.S. without seeing Millie at least once. "When are you going to get working on your project?"

"Well I'm giving myself tonight to sulk and be frustrated over it, and I'll go in tomorrow afternoon to figure out where to go from here." Millie sighed.

"What did your teachers not like about it?"

"They thought one of the spaces wasn't proportionate to the rest of the building, and then there was something about the stairs …" she groaned. "It was my worst review ever. I always have really good ones, and then for some reason it did not go this time. Which is not good because it's our capstone studio even though we have one more next semester, this one is the most important."

"I'm sure they just want to challenge you and see what you can do."

"It still blows."

"Of course it does."

"Ugh … Rob-bie," Millie groaned and then I heard rustling over the line.

"Millie?" I raised my brow a little concerned now.

"My horrible roommate and her equally horrible boyfriend are at it again." I had already read the complaints about her Belgium roommate in some of her e-mails. "This day is just getting worse."

"Why don't you just pound on the wall?" I suggested.

"It won't stop them." I knew she was pouting. "I wish people had the common courtesy to not have sex when they know the walls are made of paper. But nooo …"

I laughed. Millie's boldness about certain things never ceased to amaze me.

"I should be able to relax in my room and wind down, but they stress me out."

"Millie," I was going to have to get her mind off of them. I couldn't believe the next words out of my mouth, but it was too late to take them back. "What are you wearing?"

"Robert Pattinson!" Millie scolded through her giggling. I knew I got them off her mind with that one.

"Sorry, I just wanted you to stop rambling." I covered my face in embarrassment, so glad she couldn't see me.

"You're horrible," she mumbled. "What if I had said nothing?" I knew she had an evil look in her eyes.

"I would say: Fuck, when's the next flight to Arkansas?" She was laughing again.

I really wished I knew where we stood with each other. There was a lot of flirting at times, but neither of us had made an attempt to talk about it. Maybe we could clear it up in the next couple of months. I sure hoped so.

"Cool, I'll be waiting," Millie said.

"You are too much Millie," I sighed.

"Hey, you started it!" She defended.

"Well you were the one who said you weren't wearing anything!" I threw back. My imagination had taken off when she'd said that.

"And you liked it."

"I think it's time for you to go to bed. You're starting to get loopy."

"Let me see if they're done," Millie said, and I heard more rustling. She must have been hiding under her covers. "Okay it's safe."

I shook my head, "That's good."

"For sure," she sighed. "Congratulations again, I'm really excited for you."

"Thanks," I replied. "I'm going to let you go. Things will be better for you in the morning."

"I think they already are. Thanks for calling. Night Robbie."

"Anytime Millie, good night," I sighed as we each hung up our phones.

A few minutes later my phone beeped. I looked at the text and shook my head with a laugh. Millie was nuts.

* * *

From: Millie  
10/26/2007 10:57 p.m.

I'm wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt.

* * *

And on that text it was definitely time for bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** OMG ... I really wanted to post this one on Sunday, but stupid wouldn't let me log in ... grrrrrr ...

Anyway, we're fast forwarding again ... ...

I better get tons of feedback from you guys for this one. : )

Oh, and Fein is pronounced "Finn".

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 11**

_Wednesday, January 23, 2008 – Fayetteville, Arkansas_

Rob had disappeared off the face of the earth after Christmas. I knew it was because he was getting ready for his role in _Twilight_, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed that I hadn't heard from him. We hadn't talked since before he left to go hide out in Oregon so I really missed him.

I hadn't realized how attached I'd gotten to him until the lull in our e-mails and texts.

School had started yesterday, so there wasn't a whole lot to do for my final semester of studio, but I was hanging out at the architecture school anyway. I was in the middle of a conversation with James about his big birthday outing that he was planning for Saturday night when my phone rang.

It was Rob.

"Sorry James. I have to get this," I said as I brought my phone up to my ear. "Hey you're alive!" My voice was laced with surprise.

"I am. Sorry I haven't kept in touch," He sounded like he felt bad for not.

"That's okay," I said and sat back in my chair. "You got to do what you got to do. So how's it going?"

"Not too bad," Rob answered. "I know this is really short notice, but I was thinking maybe I could come see you before we start filming." He sounded nervous to suggest it.

"You want to come see me?" I was thrilled at the thought.

"Of course I do," he stated. "So?"

"I would love for you to visit," I sighed. We had met almost a year ago already, and hadn't seen each other since. That was way too long in my opinion.

"I was thinking I could come out there Friday sometime, whatever time is better for you, and I'd have to leave Sunday because we start filming Monday."

"Really this weekend?" I bounced up and down on my chair a little. James was still standing at my desk, and I could see him looking at my questioningly. There was no way I was going to be able to concentrate on anything now for the next two days.

"Uh-huh. Is your schedule okay for that?"

"Heck yeah. We just started studio this afternoon so there isn't a lot going on yet. Studio ends on Fridays at 5:30, so you could come in after then," I smiled. "Look for flights into XNA. I doubt you'll be able to find a direct flight, but you can get here one way or another."

"I'll see what I can find and then let you know," he stated.

"Awesome," I smiled.

* * *

_Friday, January 25, 2008 – Fayetteville, Arkansas_

I was about to go crazy waiting to see Rob come down the escalator at the one terminal in the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. Since we had talked on Wednesday and he gave me his flight information, I had been smiling non-stop and not able to concentrate on anything else.

It could not have taken any longer for the flight to de-board. The screen had said his flight had landed about 20 minutes before and people were just making their way down the escalator to baggage claim. This place was too small for it to have taken that long.

And there he was mixed in with about 30 other people. I almost couldn't believe it. Rob smiled and waved when he saw me, and I returned the gesture. He looked so good, tired, but good, and seeing him made me more excited than I already was.

"You're actually here!" I wrapped my arms around him when he stepped off of the escalator towards me. He was just as cute as I remembered, and our e-mails, texts and phone conversations had only made him that much more attractive to me. I was hooked.

"I can't believe it," Rob said as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "You look exactly the same." He looked down at me, still keeping me in his embrace. I had never seen a better smile.

"You don't. What is with the hair?" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Instead of being kind of long and floppy like it had been when we met, he now had it standing up in all different directions. "It's cute though." I shocked myself with those words.

Rob's eyes lit up at the compliment, and I just smiled back, reluctantly dropping my arms from around him. He did the same.

"Did you check any luggage?" I eyed his carry-on, which looked big enough to hold enough clothes for the day and a half he was going to be in Arkansas.

"Nah," he shook his head, readjusting the bag on his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here then." I grabbed his hand and we headed toward the sliding doors. "I parked just right out here." We walked across the three-lane drive in front of the building to the short-term parking lot. "How was your flight?"

"Well, my first flight was delayed, and then I had all of two seconds to run across the airport in Denver to catch my flight here." I could hear the frustration in his voice.

"That sucks," I sighed glancing up at him. "At least you made it though." We walked up to my Chevy Tahoe, and I hit the unlock button on the electronic key.

"Wait a second," Rob stopped, still holding onto my hand.

"What?" I looked up at him concerned that he'd forgotten something.

"This is what you drive?" He raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and shook my head. "It's huge – and you're so little." Rob looked between me and the SUV.

"Come on," I rolled my eyes and tugged on his hand. I was used to that reaction from guys when they found out what I drove. It was probably a little more shocking to Rob though, considering that in London and Europe all they drove were small "death traps" as I referred to them. "Just throw your bag in the backseat."

I opened the driver's side door as Rob walked around to the passenger side. As I got in and started the Tahoe, Rob put his bag in the back and then got in, eyeing me.

"What?" I asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Can you see over the wheel?" He teased and pulled on his seatbelt.

"Har-har," I shook my head. "I'd like to see you drive this."

"Hell no. I hate driving."

"That's what I thought," I turned around so I could see what was going on behind me before backing out of the spot. "Have you had dinner yet?" I glanced over at him and then back out the windshield to navigate my way out of the lot.

"I just had some little crackers on the plane."

"I'll stop and get you something when we get closer to school," I said.

"Sure," Rob replied. "How far away is your school?"

"About 30 minutes," I answered. We talked the whole way to Fayetteville. I stopped at McDonald's to get him dinner and after fighting with him to let me pay, we finally made it to the dorm I live in.

I felt kind of stupid bringing him to my dorm, but it was where I lived and it made no sense for him to stay in hotel, which I never would have allowed anyway.

"Here it is." I unlocked the main door into my dorm suite, and pulled the heavy door open, letting him step through first. My roommate and her boyfriend were on the couch, go figure. I followed Rob into the common room.

"This is Rob," I waved my hand in his direction. "Rob this is one of my roommate's Fein and her boyfriend Kevin."

"Hi," Rob smiled and nodded. They said hi back through their thick Belgium accents.

"Come on." I headed down the short hallway to the right and stuck my key in the first door on the left. Rob followed looking around. "Bathroom's there, that's my sink …" I pointed to one of the doors to our right and one of the sinks that was right behind us. "And this is my room."

I pushed the door open into the small space and stepped inside. Rob followed and dropped his bag on the ground by my desk. I turned to close the door.

"So make yourself at home." I was so happy he was here and couldn't help but put my arms around him again. He hugged me back. "Have I mentioned how nice it is to see you?"

"You haven't," Rob answered with a shake of his head. "It's nice to see you too. It has been way too long if you ask me."

"For sure," I agreed smiling up at him.

"But as much as I'd love to stand here and hug you all night, do you think I could eat my dinner?" Rob was still holding the paper sack his food was in.

"Oh, yeah, go ahead." I pulled away with a smile. Rob pulled out my desk chair and sat down. He took his burger and fries out of the bag.

"I'm actually going to get ready for bed now." It was starting to get a little late and I was tired from my lack of sleep for the past two nights. "Speaking of you have three options."

He looked up from his food.

"You can either sleep out on the couch, the floor … or squished on my little bed with me." I opened my dresser drawer to grab my pajama pants and T-shirt, and then turned to look at him.

Rob looked a little surprised by his options and answered, "Squished with you is fine."

"Okay, just no funny business," I teased and stole one of his fries, popping it into my mouth.

"Ruin all my fun Millie," he grinned back. I opened the door again and went into the bathroom.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Rob asked when I was standing at the sink a couple minutes later, about to brush my teeth.

"Well tomorrow night we're hitting Dickson Street." I turned around so I could see him as I squeezed some toothpaste onto my toothbrush. "But other than that the rest of the day is free."

"Dickson Street?" He asked.

"That's where all the bars are," I answered. "I thought we'd go to Hog Haus for dinner, and then I have to make an appearance at Willy D's for James' birthday. We can stay there or hit up another place, but Willy D's is pretty cool."

"You know best." Rob smiled.

I stuck my toothbrush into my mouth and began brushing my teeth. Rob had finished eating his food by time I had finished getting ready for bed. I yawned as I walked back into my room.

"Nice picture." Rob nodded toward the frame sitting on my desk. It was one of the ones of us in London.

"Thanks." I smiled and sat on my bed. He stood up while he threw the wrappers and empty ketchup packets into the paper sack and then stuck it in the trash can under my desk. I watched as he picked up his bag and set it on the chair and unzipping it he began pulling things out of it.

"Can I take a shower?" He turned to look at me.

"No you can't Rob. I really like it when I'm about to share a bed with someone who smells." I droned, sarcastically. He really didn't smell bad at all.

"Well okay then." Rob shrugged with a chuckle and jumped onto my bed, knocking me over in the process. He cuddled up next to me. "Comfy?" Our feet were hanging off of the edge of the bed with our heads against the wall.

"Not so much." I laughed, wiggling out of his arms. "Let me get you a towel." Rob stood up when I did. He grabbed the stuff he had pulled out of his bag and followed me. I handed him a towel from the cabinet under my sink. "Need anything else?"

"I can take it from here." Rob smiled pulling open the door to the small room where the bathtub and toilet were.

"That's good to know," I nodded.

"Give me five minutes." Rob stepped into the little room, closing the door and locking it.

"Wash your hair!" I yelled through the door. I had teased him on our way home about his hair looking like he hadn't washed it in quite some time.

"Hey! I resent that!" I heard the water turn on and then turned to go back to my room. I left my bedroom door open a crack, just in case my roommate or her boyfriend came by on their way to her room.

I was pretty sure my roommate was wondering what was wrong with me because I was normally pretty quiet around her. But I was planning on enjoying the two nights and day and a half that Rob and I had together.

True to his word, Rob came back into my room five minutes later. I barely had time to crawl under the covers and get settled. He closed the door behind him and locked the top lock before setting his dirty clothes on top of his bag.

I could smell his soap as he moved around.

"Should I turn off the light?" Rob asked. I nodded, not sure why I was nervous all of a sudden. We were just going to sleep after all. He turned the lamp off that was sitting on my desk. When he lifted up the covers to get into bed, I scooted over as far as I could. This bed was definitely not made for two people.

Rob settled down next to me and pulled the covers back over us. I moved back toward him some more. My feet brushed up against his, but I didn't bother to move them. His were still warm from his shower.

"Millie?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah?" I responded in the same tone.

"Did you stick your feet in a vat of ice before climbing into bed?" I could make out his smirk in the dark.

"Oh, sorry." I moved my feet away from his, giggling quietly. "They are always freezing at night."

"You can keep them there." I stuck one foot under his feet and the other between them. They were warming up already.

"Night Robbie." I closed my eyes, breathing in and out deeply. I was so happy that we were this comfortable with each other after only being together again for a couple of hours.

"Good night Millie." Rob's hand came to my waist.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: **This one's a long one. Don't get used to it. :D

Sorry I didn't get it up on Thursday, but after my last weekend and the length of this chapter it just wasn't going to happen. So I think my "Sunday-Thursday" posting schedule has gone out the window. Don't count on an update tomorrow. :S Also if it happens that I can't log in again and there is an update you can gaurantee that it'll be up on my Web site. So take note of it: n-outsync [dot] net [slash] stories [slash] rawf

Thanks for the fantastic feedback. I know you all will enjoy this one!

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 12**

_Saturday, January 26, 2008 – Fayetteville, Arkansas_

_Millie's Point of View_

It was nice and warm when I woke up the next morning. Rob had curled an arm around me in his sleep at some point during the night. As much as I did not want to move out of his embrace, I had to go to the bathroom.

I rolled over onto my back and looked over at Rob. He looked so peaceful, and I was afraid to move his hand that was now on my stomach, but I really had to get up. Just as I was about to lightly move his hand, Rob rolled over onto his back taking his hand with him.

I wiggled out from under the covers, but I still had to climb over him to get out of bed. I put one of my legs over his waist, not even thinking about how precarious this position was. I looked down at him, and he was still asleep, but when I made a move to get the other leg over by placing my hands on either side of his head, he woke up.

"What are you doing?" Rob's voice was laced with sleep as he opened his eyes lazily.

"I have to pee," I looked down at him. His hair was everywhere, and I'm sure it was going to be stuck like that all day after having slept with it wet. "Go back to sleep." I finished getting off of my bed and unlocked my door to go to the bathroom.

When I came back, Rob had not moved an inch, so I found myself in the same position, straddling him.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say that you are trying to take advantage of me," Rob smirked.

"You caught me," I shrugged, and grinning, I leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"Get back under here …" Rob gave me a lopsided smile with that statement. I loved it.

I lifted the blankets and crawled back under so I could snuggle up next to him again. I couldn't resist pushing my fingers through his soft hair. Rob smiled contentedly and put his hand back on my waist.

"Is there anything special you'd like to do today?" I asked him after a minute of silence and removing my hand from his hair. I put my arm around him, in a half hug, and his hand moved around to my back, pulling me closer to his body.

"Just hang out with you," Rob answered.

"K," I smiled. "I know it's a little cold out, but I can show you around campus. We could grab some breakfast and coffee at RZ's or Starbucks and then walk around."

"That sounds fine."

When we finally crawled out of bed an hour or so later, Rob and I got ready for the day and then headed out. We walked over to the Union first to get coffee and something small for breakfast. I had to fight with Rob to let me pay for it using my meal plan, and our compromise was that he could pay for our food and drinks when we went out later.

After we ate, I showed him around campus and then the architecture studio.

"So this is my home away from home," I said as we walked into the main studio space upstairs in Vol Walker Hall. The large room was pretty empty, but it was still fairly early for a Saturday in studio. Rob followed me through the maze of drafting tables and computers to where my stuff was set up in the back corner.

"And this is my desk." My drafting table was messy with drawings, supplies and my studio laptop. "It's a little bit of a disaster right now. I've got to get organized for this semester still." I glanced over at Rob, and he smiled back.

"Did you make that?" Rob pointed to a model that was sitting on my desk. It had 10 different levels of Plexiglas that were cut and carved out by a laser cutter like a map. I had gone over the groves in the Plexiglas with a different pastel color for each level that was separated by an inch of space. It was held together by a plastic support in the center.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It's an analytical model for this map project we did last semester." I explained the model some more and then showed him my final drawings from December.

"These are really good Millie," Rob said as we flipped through the plans, sections, elevations and other drawings from last semester's museum project. "But I already knew you had talent."

"Thanks," I couldn't help but blush when he made that statement. I looked over at him with red cheeks and a smile. Rob grinned back.

"Wasn't this the project you had a bad review for?" He asked.

"Don't remind me," I sat down on my chair, cringing at that thought. Rob shook his head and laughed a little. "You should pull up a chair." I pointed to the one at the desk next to mine. Rob grabbed the rolling chair and moved it next to me so he could sit down. "So on Monday, I have to have 20 diagrams analyzing this painting."

I showed him the computer print out of the painting "Saint Jerome in his Study" by Antonello da Messina.

"They always give us some crazy-ass assignment at the beginning of the semester that doesn't seem like it means anything until we're all done." I explained picking up a roll of trace paper and laying it over the sheet of paper.

"Are you going to work on it now?" He asked.

"Oh, sorry … we can go. I just have a hard time coming in here and not working," I looked over at him.

"No, no, that's fine. I don't mind watching you work for a while," Rob answered.

"Cool," I smiled and grabbed a stick of Conté from my toolbox to start sketching on the trace paper. I had to stare at the painting underneath the opaque paper for a few minutes before finally putting the Conté to it. "You want to draw?"

"I think I'll pass on that one," he laughed. "Drawing is not my thing."

"Just let me know when you're tired of watching me, and we can go find something else to do," I looked over at him. "I'd hate for you have come all the way out here and been bored out of your mind."

"I'm just happy to be able to see you Millie," Rob smiled.

I returned his smile and then turned back to the paper in front of me, thinking about how nice it was to be this close to him again and how happy I was to see him too.

* * *

_Rob's Point of View_

This day had gone by too fast, and now I was playing on Millie's computer while she finished getting ready to go out to dinner. I already wished we were going to have more time together. Seeing her at the airport last night, falling asleep next to her with her feet tucked between mine, and then what I woke up to this morning was brilliant.

When I pictured Millie hovering over me in a very interesting position this morning, I couldn't contain the grin that came to my face at that memory. I definitely could not have waken up to a better view, and I had made no attempt to move when she came back to bed either, knowing she wouldn't hesitate to end up above me again.

After we got out of bed, she showed me around her school, and I got full details on the architectural history of some of the buildings there. Millie's passion for architecture once again amazed me, and it was evident in the projects she had shown me. She really was good at what she wanted to do with her life.

"I'm almost done," Millie interrupted my replaying of the day in my mind. She stood in the doorway.

"Take your time," I responded looking over at her. I wasn't sure what else she had to do, because she was going to make me look like a slob in my plaid button-down shirt, with her dark jeans and bright blue shirt that complimented her nicely if I was allowed to say so myself. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"K." Millie returned to her mirror and brushed through her hair. It wasn't much longer until we pulled on our coats and were walking back across the University campus to the street where all the pubs were. Millie thought it would be easier to walk rather than find a place to park.

Our first stop of the evening was for dinner at a restaurant called Hog Haus, it was really busy when we got there so I gave them my name, and then Millie and I went and stood outside, despite the cold, to wait for our table to be ready.

I leaned against the wall, with Millie standing in front of me trying to keep out of the way from everyone who was coming in and out of the restaurant. She scrunched down into her jacket and scarf more, shivering a little.

"Cold?" I asked and she nodded. "Come here." I unzipped my jacket and when she stepped closer to me, I wrapped it around her along with my arms. Her arms snuck around my waist under my coat. "Better?"

"Much," she stepped up on her toes and kissed my cheek. I smiled. I was very tempted to give her a proper kiss, but decided against it. For now I was content to have her snuggling under my jacket like she was.

"Is it always this busy here?" I asked after several minutes.

"Yeah, and because it's the first Friday of the semester everyone's out to party," Millie answered tilting her head so she could look up at me. "You have to get your drink on before the insanity begins." She laughed.

"Oh, is that what you're going to do tonight?" I teased, smiling down at her.

"No," Millie shook her head. "I have a five drink limit tonight because I want to remember every second I have with you." Her eyes shined while she said that.

"Ah, good answer," I chuckled as the pager the hostess had given me vibrated in the front pocket of my pants. Millie pulled away giggling, as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the hunk of plastic. "I guess that's us then."

After moving from my spot against the wall, I opened the door and let Millie go in front of me. I handed the pager to the hostess, and we followed her through the busy restaurant. When she showed us our table, I pulled Millie's chair out for her so she could sit and then sat across from her.

"What's good here?" I opened the menu and looked over at her.

"Mmmm …" Millie thought looking through her menu too and then up at me. "The Barbeque Burger or Pulled Pork Sandwich, and you have to have the Curly Tail Ale. That's one of the beers they brew here. I think you'll like it."

Millie and I took our time eating and enjoying each other's company before going to the next destination of the night that was a little farther down the street. We made our way through the crowded piano bar, after getting carded at the door, and I followed Millie with my hand in hers as she searched out her friends in the noisy room.

"You're late!" One of the guys at the table we were approaching shouted as he stood up. He already sounded like he had had several drinks. He pulled Millie against him and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hi," Millie laughed dropping her hand from mine and giving him quick hug. "Happy Birthday James."

"Thanks." He was eyeing me, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. It was already clear to me that he had a thing for Millie. She moved out of his embrace and stepped back toward me.

"This is Rob," Millie pointed to me, and then at each person sitting at the table telling me their names. After the introductions, I turned back to Millie.

"What do you want to drink?" I asked her before eyeing the crowded bar at the back of the room.

"I'll just have whatever you're having." She smiled up at me as she unbuttoned her jacket.

"You sure?" I wanted to make sure. She nodded, and I gave her a nod back before turning and heading to the bar.

When I returned several minutes later, Millie had taken up residence on the chair next to James and was chatting with her friends. I handed her one of the mugs of beer in my hand and set the other one down on the table so I could take my jacket off and hang it on the back of the chair along with Millie's.

"Sit down," she smiled up at me as she scooted over on the chair and patted the spot next to me. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulder and picked up my mug from the table.

"So Millie says you're in a movie?" James leaned forward in his chair so he could see me around Millie. He was almost yelling to be heard over the dueling pianos and loud banter all around us.

"Yeah," I nodded and took a sip of my beer.

"What is it?" The girl, who I had learned was named Rachel, leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table, and she almost knocked over the brown liquid in her glass.

"It's called _Twilight_," I answered. Her eyes got really wide, and Millie looked between me and Rachel.

"Oh my God! I love those books, what character are you going to be?" She asked quickly, the words almost blending in together. This was a new reaction. Well I was used to it from Millie, but had not been expecting the same giddiness about it from another person.

"Edward." I could see Millie trying to hide the smirk on her face by drinking her beer. Rachel looked over at Millie and the two started squealing over the books and the fact that it was going to be a movie. Wow.

"Have you been in anything else?" James, who was sitting next to Rachel, asked me.

"I've done a few films in London," I answered. "And I was in two of the _Harry Potter_ films."

"You're Cedric!" Rachel slapped her hand down on the table. "I thought you looked familiar."

I really wanted the attention off of me and couldn't have been more relieved when Millie changed the subject to something I had no idea about. She was good at reading me. I didn't mind just sitting back and watching Millie interact with her friends.

I realized that Millie was oblivious to James' affections toward her, and I hoped she wasn't like that when it came to me. But I didn't think that was the case as she settled into my side a little more on the chair we were sharing. My tailbone was starting to fall asleep from only being on half of the chair, but I wasn't going to say anything because I liked being this close to Millie.

"Robbie," Millie turned to me after a while, "I'm going to get another drink, what do you want?"

"Another beer is fine love," I said. Her eyes lit up at that term of endearment. "Let me give you some money." I started to reach for my wallet.

"I got it," she answered waving me off. "I still owe you a drink for your birthday last year anyway."

"Thanks," I grinned remembering her card. She stood up from the chair, and I scooted over to give my tailbone a break. When she came back, I moved over again, but she stopped me and sat on my lap instead, setting my glass down on the table.

"What'd you get?" I eyed her glass after she settled in my lap. I didn't mind this one bit.

"Jack and Coke," she answered and held it up to me. "This is my last drink tonight. Do you want some?"

"No thanks," I curled my arm around her and rested my hand on her stomach. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the dirty look James was throwing in my direction for that. I ignored it.

"Are you bored?" She asked after taking a sip of her drink.

"I'm fine," I answered reaching for the mug she had set down on the table for me. Millie threaded her fingers through my hair, tugging on it a little. "What are you doing?" I raised my brow.

"I just really like your hair." Millie smiled, keeping her fingers there. There had been very few moments when Millie and I weren't engaging in some sort of physical contact since I had arrived.

* * *

_Millie's Point of View_

It was just after midnight when my friends and I walked out of Willy D's. The cold air felt good after being inside with the heat generated from all of the people in the piano bar.

"Are you coming over?" James asked as we stepped outside.

"Nah," I shook my head and looked up at him. "You know me and alcohol, it puts me to sleep." I smiled and leaned into Rob's side when he put his hand on my waist.

"You're going to miss all the fun," Jake threw his arm around James' shoulder. He had probably done the most drinking out of all of us. "Come on Rob tell her you want to come party some more with us."

"I think we're going to pass on that," Rob laughed and looked at me waiting for my response.

"We gotta head home," I agreed, "besides we walked from the Quad so my car is not here." It was a viable excuse, plus I knew they would just go back to their apartment and play some drinking games and then crash. "So you guys have fun and don't cause any trouble. Did you have a good birthday James?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming out," he said. "See you tomorrow?"

"After I take Rob to the airport," I answered, nodding. "Are you guys going to be able to drag yourselves out of bed?"

"Maybe around dinnertime," James shrugged with a smile.

"Okay, we'll see ya'll later. Ready Rob?" He nodded, and we said bye to my friends before going in the opposite direction of them.

"He likes you," Rob said after a minute.

"Who?" I looked over at him a little surprised at that statement.

"James." He looked down at me.

"Really?" I asked. I hadn't noticed, but I guess I had never read much in James' actions toward me in that manner. "Hmm …" I hummed. The only guy I had my eyes on at the moment was the one who was walking next to me, so I definitely wasn't paying attention.

"I was getting evil looks thrown in my direction all night," Rob casually put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

"Huh … I hadn't noticed," I leaned closer to him. It was quiet for a few minutes, except for the noises coming through the bars we passed and cars driving by. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, you've got very nice friends, except for the death glares." He grinned down at me and I laughed. "But you're worth it."

"Awe thanks." I wanted to kiss him so much.

We made it back to my room, and after getting ready for bed and turning out the light, I crawled into bed next to Rob. I really liked having him here and was not looking forward to the following afternoon when I'd have to say bye to him for however long it would be.

I knew he was going to be busy filming so I probably wouldn't hear from him much over the next couple of months. I really wanted to know where we stood with each other because I didn't want to miss any chance I had with him.

"Hi," I said after I had curled up next to him on my little bed.

"What?" Rob asked. I guess he could tell I was up to something.

"I kind of want to try something." I really, really wanted to know what it would feel like to actually kiss him, and I was going to go for it.

"What's that?" He smiled.

"But we can't get carried away." I could see that he was raising his eyebrows now. I reached up and traced my fingers up his jawbone into his hair, and then threaded them through it. I moved closer to him and pressed my lips to his. It was a quick kiss and then I pulled back.

"Did I buy you too many drinks tonight?" Rob teased quietly.

"Shut up." I kissed him again and this time he reciprocated the gesture, deepening the pressure against my lips. I sighed and curled my fingers through his hair even more. I felt one of his hands come to rest on my hip and then moved around to my lower back as he turned us so I was lying flat on my back.

We kissed for a while, our lips meeting each other's softly over and over again, until Rob pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.

"I've wanted to do that all night," Rob said quietly.

"Me too," I bit my lower lip and smiled up at him. "What took us so long?"

"Too much distance," he sighed and rolled over onto his back. I followed so I could rest my head on his chest, wrapping an arm around his waist.

We were quiet. I was enjoying the silence and thinking about the kiss we had just shared when there was a loud bump against one of the walls next door, and then my roommate her boyfriend started laughing.

"What the hell?" Rob sounded as annoyed as I felt. They definitely just ruined the moment.

"I told you they're like freakin' rabbits." I lifted my head so I could look at him.

"Want to give them a run for their money?" I could see the joking grin on his face.

"You aren't getting that lucky buddy," Laughing, I patted his stomach and kissed his lips quickly.

"Damn," he sighed, pretending to be disappointed. "So, Millie …" His voice got softer and slightly nervous sounding.

"Hmm …" I lay my head down on the pillow next to his. He turned a little so he was looking at me. I smiled waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I like you," he stated.

I couldn't have been happier to hear those three little words. The fact that he felt the same way I did was just … I couldn't describe it.

"That's good because I like you too." My lips met his again, and I couldn't help but put my fingers through his hair again. His lips made their way from my mouth to ear.

"I think you're a little obsessed with my hair," Rob said into my ear after he finished nibbling on it.

"Nah, your lips are pretty nice too." I sighed as his lips made their way back to mine.

Previous

Index

Next

Got feedback? || © 2009 Christine


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** I just wanted you to know that chapters are probably going to be coming slower than they have been.

When I woke up Thursday morning, half of my right hand was numb and tingly, fingers included, and it hurt like you wouldn't believe. I have carpal tunnel and another nerve condition, which was supposed to be done and over with after having surgery more than a year ago, but it's decided to flare up again (it feels like the nerve snapped back to where it belongs – getting pinched in my elbow).

I just can't afford to exert myself on the computer like I have been between work and writing – it's no good. And this makes me very sad because I love being able to update for you guys as much as I have been. I will do what I can and work through the pain as much as is tolerable so I can continue to update at least once a week.

I just wanted to let you all know that that is going on, in case there is a lag in updates.

Here's another "long" one, but like I said before don't get used to it. :P

I can't thank you enough for your continuing feedback/reviews.

Also I started a page over on my Web site that has pictures of the architecture that is mentioned in this story. Feel free to check it out: http://www [dot] n-outsync [dot] net [/] stories [/] rawtf [/] architecture [/] index [dot] html

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 13**

_Sunday, January 27, 2008 – Fayetteville, Arkansas_

_Rob's Point of View_

When I woke up, after we had finally gone to sleep last night, Millie was still peacefully sleeping, and as much as I didn't want to wake her up, I wanted her to be up so we could spend as much time together before I had to go to the airport.

I did not want to go back to Oregon this afternoon, but I was going to have to face the inevitable, which was that we were going to be separated for a while, again. It really was the last thing I wanted, especially after last night, when we finally took the next step in our relationship. I couldn't have been happier to know what she felt for me, and I knew she must have been relieved to know how I feel about her.

I pushed myself up, taking her in for a few minutes, she was so beautiful. Then I woke her by bringing my lips to her cheek and then across her nose, ending at her lips.

"Good morning," Millie spoke quietly when my lips left hers. She opened her eyes and I smiled at her.

"Morning," I had to lean down and give her a proper good morning kiss.

"I can't believe you're awake," she yawned, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. "I'm so tired."

"I just want to spend some time with you awake, before we have to go to the airport." I lay back down next to her and draped my arm around her so I could pull her close.

"Mmm," she pouted. "Do you really have to leave?"

"I don't want to," I sighed, moving my hand up her back and into her hair. I think I now understood the fascination she had with sticking her fingers in my hair. "But there's a whole production schedule riding on me being there. Besides don't you want me to be Edward?"

I grinned cheekily.

"Well I do," Millie rolled her eyes and smiled, "but not nearly as much as I want to be near you." She put her arm around me, tucking her head under my chin and snuggling closer.

"I want that too," I kissed her head. "We'll make it work."

"I know we will. We've already got the long distance thing down, and now that we know where we stand with each other …" She trailed off and tilted her head so she was looking up at me.

"So you're not going to run off with James?" I teased, kissing her forehead.

"Definitely not. I am quite happy with you." Millie sighed, curling into my side even more. I tightened my hold on her.

"That's good to know Millie." Her reassurance was good to know. She pulled away from me, and rolling over onto her back, Millie turned her head to look at me. My heart melted, seeing how she was looking at me through her big brown eyes. "You are so beautiful."

I caressed her cheek with my hand, rubbing my thumb over it lightly. She sighed as I leaned in to kiss her again. Our lips meshed together.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Millie pulled away after a few moments. She sighed.

"Ugh," I pulled away, flopping over onto my back. "You're such a mood killer."

"What? I had a lot to drink last night," she laughed and sat up, looking down at me. "Besides we should get up anyway. I thought we could go have breakfast before I take you to the airport."

"Sure," I let out a deep breath as she crawled off of her bed. I stared at the ceiling, thinking about last night and how it felt to kiss her, and touch her and hold her close. I could only imagine what it was going to be like when we went further than kissing. I sighed; my thoughts were going to have to change before she came back.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just work," I turned to look at Millie who was looking at me from above. She smiled and lay back down next to me, tucking the covers around us again.

"You excited?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Excited, nervous … a little bit of everything."

"You'll be great," Millie put her hand on my chest, scratching her fingers lightly. We talked until it really was time to get going so we'd have time to eat breakfast before going to the airport.

"Do you want to take some food for your flights?" Millie asked me as I was stuffing the things I brought back into my bag. "Just in case you get hungry, I can make you a sandwich."

"You don't have to do that," I looked down at her. She was sitting on her bed, putting her shoes on.

"I want to." Millie stood up and walked over to her mini-fridge. "I have peanut butter and jelly, or ham. Which one?"

"Uh," I had to think about it, "Ham is fine."

"I don't have anything else to put on it though, is that okay?" She opened the fridge door and took out a container of ham. There was a loaf of bread sitting on top of the refrigerator.

"That's fine," I shrugged and zipped up the backpack I had brought. After setting it on her bed, I pulled out her desk chair and sat down so I could put my shoes on as well. Millie finished making me the sandwich and then grabbed a small package of cookies, before sticking them both in the front pocket of my backpack. "Thanks."

"Your welcome," she kissed me quickly and looked at her clock. "You're flight's at two right?" I nodded. It was already 11. "If we get to the airport at one, you'll have plenty of time to get through security, which takes about 10 minutes there. Do you have everything you came with?"

"I should." I stood up, stretching. "It's not like I brought a lot to lose."

"True. Well, we should head out then." Millie sounded very reluctant to say that, pulling her coat on and then wrapping her scarf around her neck. I put my jacket on as well and then grabbed my backpack before we headed out the door.

Our breakfast went by too fast, and before either of us knew it Millie was parking her SUV at the airport. I had been carrying a necklace, which I had picked out for her, in my pocket all weekend, just waiting for the right moment to give it to her. And for some reason, sitting in her car, before we got out to go inside the airport was it. Not to mention, I was happy to find any excuse that would prolong the inevitable of having to leave her.

"So I got you something," I spoke up as she was turning the ignition off.

"You did?" Millie smiled in surprise as she unbuckled her seatbelt, and sat back against the seat.

"Yeah," I nodded, "I found it when I was Christmas shopping for my sisters and thought you would like it."

"Let me see."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little blue, drawstring pouch the necklace was in and handed it to her. She opened it and pulled out the thin gold chain with a charm of Big Ben hanging on it.

"Ooo … pretty." Millie's fingers played with the charm on the end.

"I though you'd like it because of the parliament and all." I was so happy she liked it.

"It's perfect," she leaned over the center console and gave me a hug.

"Well put it on," I encouraged.

"You do it." Millie handed me the necklace and then pushed up the console so she could scoot closer to me. After unclasping the delicate chain, I brought it around her neck and hooked it back together. Her hair was tucked underneath it so I pulled it out from under.

"Happy early birthday Millie," I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, you remembered," sighing, Millie brought one of her hands up to the charm again to rub it between her fingers.

"Of course," I grinned, "I remember everything you've every said to me." That was the truth. Every little thing she said and did stick in my mind, and I knew those things would forever be in my head.

"You are too sweet," she leaned in closer and brushed her lips against mine.

"You're not so bad about yourself," I sighed when she pulled away. I did not want to leave her, but I had too. "I guess we should go in now."

"Yeah," she pouted looking toward the airport. I hated that I knew I was going to get so caught up in this movie that wouldn't talk to her much, but I was going to do everything in my power to keep up with her. There was no way I was letting go after this weekend.

Millie moved back to her door, as I reached around the seat to grab my bag. We held hands as we walked across the lot. Millie stood with me as I checked in and then went up the escalator to the security gate.

"So this is it," Millie sighed as she wrapped her arms around me, tightly. I held her close too and putting my nose against her hair, I took in a deep breath. "Thanks for having me."

"Always Robbie," she smiled up at me. "I am so glad we got to spend this weekend together."

"Me too. It was one of the best weekends I've had in a while," I admitted, and she nodded in agreement. Leaning down, I pushed my lips against hers. This one was going to have to last. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and felt her pull on my jacket, bringing me closer.

We were probably getting an audience with this kiss, but I was so wrapped up in feeling her lips against mine that I was a surprised when I felt tears hit the pads of my thumbs as they came down her cheeks.

"Are you crying?" I asked her softly.

"Sorry," she apologized, pulling away from me a little and looking down at the floor in embarrassment. "This is so stupid … I just, yeah I don't know." Millie wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket and looked back up at me.

"You don't have to apologize." I was surprised that she was crying, because she was always so strong and confident with everything. It was nice to see a different side of her. I placed a light kiss on her forehead and smiling softly, I spoke, "Would it make you feel better if we set a date to see each other again?"

"Yeah," she nodded with a smile.

"When's your next school holiday?"

"Um …" Millie thought. "Either the second or third week of March is spring break."

"It's a date then," I responded. "I'll find out where we're shooting and you can come out to visit. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," she pulled herself closer and stood taller to kiss me again. I did not want to let her go, but I had to. After a few more short kisses, I took a short step back.

"I better go."

"Okay," Millie's smile was sad.

"We'll see each other soon." I would make sure of that.

"Yes we will." She brightened and kissed my cheek. "Knock 'em dead."

"Shouldn't that be bite?" I smirked.

"Have you learned nothing about Edward?" She put her hands on her hips, "He's a good vampire."

"Eh, we'll see about that," I brought my head down to her neck and bit at it a little.

"Okay – you better go," Millie pushed me away laughing. That's what I wanted to see. "You don't want to miss your flight."

"All right," I ran my fingers through my hair. "Just one more kiss though."

"I'm not gonna argue that," she said as I brought my mouth to hers. It was a short, sweet kiss, but it was one of the best we had shared.

"Bye Millie."

"Bye Rob."

We let go of each other, and I turned to go through security. I handed the guard my passport and ticket, turning to look at Millie again. She was still standing there. I waved and she waved back.

After making my way through security without a hitch, I headed in the direction of my gate. I looked past security and saw Millie still standing where I left her, so I stopped and raised an eyebrow, questioningly. She just shrugged and waved again, before bringing her hand to her mouth and blowing a kiss in my direction. I shook my head, smiling before throwing a short wave.

She mouthed "bye" one last time and then turned to go. I watched her until I couldn't see her anymore, and then headed toward my gate. This weekend couldn't have gone any better. I got to spend time with Millie, and I knew exactly how she felt about me. It was a very good thing.

There was about 10 minutes before my flight was going to board, when my phone beeped. I knew there was only one person it could be, and I was right.

* * *

From: Millie  
1/27/2008 1:32 p.m.

I miss you already.

* * *

Millie was something else all right. I texted her back.

* * *

To: Millie  
1/27/2008 1:33 p.m.

I miss you already too.

* * *

And then it was time to take off for my next adventure.

* * *

_Millie's Point of View_

I missed him before we even said goodbye this afternoon. The weekend had been perfect; kissing Rob was perfect; knowing where we were at with each other was perfect. I was only disappointed by the fact that I knew I wouldn't hear from him much for the next couple of months based on the previous movies he'd done since we met. I wasn't going to let that get in the way, because I knew how good this could be between us, and I was pretty confident he knew that too.

"So what's with you and that Rob guy?" James interrupted my thoughts. I was in studio trying to knock out the rest of my diagrams, but all I could think about was Rob.

"He's my boyfriend," I wasn't really sure if I should use that term, but after this weekend I didn't know how else to describe him.

"Oh," James sighed. I guess I could see Rob's point now, there was no mistaking the mixed look of disappointment and jealousy on his face now. "Are you sure he's okay for you?"

"What do you mean 'okay for me'?" I quoted back, a little annoyed. He was about to ruin the high I was on from this weekend.

"I don't know," James shrugged. "I guess I just don't trust him."

"That is retarded James," I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. "You don't even know Rob."

"And you do?" He shot back.

"I'm not about to argue with you about this," I shook my head. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I just think-"

"Fuck off James," Rachel cut him off. "Just because you didn't have the balls to admit to liking her forever ago doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about Rob. She's taken. Get over it." Leave it to Rachel to be blunt when she wasn't being girly.

I couldn't have been more relieved to hear my phone ring.

"Hi Robbie," I sighed pulling my fingers through my hair.

"Whoa, bad timing?" Rob asked noticing the slight edge in my voice.

"No, James is just being a jerk," I glared in his direction, and stood up so I could leave studio and talk to Rob alone.

"What's he doing?" There was a lot of noise over the line, and then I heard him tell someone what hotel to take him to. "Do I need to come back and beat him up?"

"No," I laughed. "Rachel just took him down … he's just decided that now was a good time to get jealous."

"I told you that he liked you."

"I never doubted you Rob," I walked into the gallery and found a spot to sit on the floor, leaning against one of the big pin-up boards in the space. I was done with this topic. "So I take it you're alive and the plane didn't crash?"

"Yup," Rob laughed.

"That's good," I sighed leaning my head back against the board. "I can't tell you enough how I much I enjoyed this weekend. I am so glad you made the trip and that we got to spend time together."

"Me too, Millie." I could just picture him pulling his hands through his hair. We talked until he got to the hotel he would be staying at, and I needed to get back to work.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** Thanks for all of the well wishes about my hand. It means a lot. For sure. I am actually doing better. I think it's helping that I'm using my left hand to control the mouse during my eight hours a day at work, and then not coming home and sitting on the computer.

I've got a bit of writer's block with this story, and I wanted this chapter to be at the same level as the others, so it's taken a while to get out.

Thanks again for all of the wonderful feedback!

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 14**

_Thursday, February 14, 2008 – Fayetteville, Arkansas_

"Is Millie in here?" I recognized the school secretary's voice as she asked someone else in the room. I couldn't see the door to the studio because my desk was hidden between a few movable bulletin boards that served as space dividers in the large studio space.

"Yeah, she's in the back corner." Jake's voice echoed in an answer. Very few people were in studio because it wasn't a class day, but there were some of us scattered around.

I was definitely curious to know why she was looking for me. It hadn't been the best day so far, and it certainly didn't help that I was moping over it being Valentine's Day and that I hadn't heard from Rob. So I knew he had better things to do than call me, but I was allowed to be a girl about some things, right?

"Hey Mille," the older woman said as she approached my desk. She held a small brown box in her hands.

"What's up?" I eyed the package, setting my pencil down. I had been busy sketching some ideas for my current project.

"This package came for you in the office," she handed it to me.

"Cool," I set it on my desk, wondering what it was because I hadn't been expecting anything, and if I was it wouldn't have come to studio. "Thanks for bringing it to me."

"No problem," she smiled. "Have a good day."

"You too," I replied already digging through my tool box, which I kept all of my supplies in, searching for an X-Acto blade to cut through the tape that sealed the box. There wasn't a return address on the box, so I had no idea where it came from.

Inside the box, there was a sealed red envelope and something underneath it, wrapped in black tissue paper. Picking up the envelope, I tore into that first, and laughed seeing the front of the card. The cartoon peanut with eyes, arms and legs, and some hearts drawn around it, with "I'm Nuts about You" written above; it was cheesy, and I loved it.

The inside of the card was blank except for Rob's scrawl.

_Millie,_

_You don't know, well maybe you do, how much you mean to me._  
_I've loved every second we've known each other, especially those few_  
_seconds we we've actually been able to be together._

_You're a special girl, and I can't wait to see you in March._

_This package is nothing too special, but I know you'll like it._  
_(You better, because of the Spanish Inquisition I got for it.)_

_I'll call you tonight – I promise – it might be late, but I will._

_Happy Valentine's Day._

_Hugs and kisses, well mostly kisses,_  
_And now that this has gone corny – _  
_(Not that the front of the card wasn't already …)_

_Yours,_  
_Rob_

I cleared off a space at the corner of my desk and stood the card up there, so I could look at it while I was working, and then reached inside the box to pick up what was still in it. It felt like a book. Tearing off the thin opaque paper, I laughed when I saw that it was indeed a book, and a copy of _Twilight_ at that, with a piece of paper taped to the front cover.

On it, he had written: "Open me!"

I opened the cover as he instructed and turned to the title page. Rob had Stephanie Meyer sign the page as well as everyone who was going to be in the movie, including himself.

_To Millie,_  
_The things I will do for you …_  
_With Love,_  
_Robbie xo_

I would have been content with a simple phone call or even text message, but he had to go and do that for me. Knowing him, he probably had a really hard time going around asking each of them to sign the book for me because that would bring unwanted attention upon himself. He was incredibly thoughtful.

I picked up my cell phone and texted him, anxious and impatient for when he would call me later.

* * *

To: Rob  
2/14/2008 2:16 p.m.

Thank you and Happy Valentine's Day Rob.

* * *

I had no concept of what time it was when Rob called me later that night, and it took me a few seconds to realize that my phone was even ringing before I reached for where it was placed on the window sill.

"Hello?" I pushed my fingers through my hair to move it out of my face.

"Hi Millie," Rob's voice came over the line. "Sorry it's so late. Should I call you back?"

"No, no," I said, "Just give me a second to wake up. How's filming going?" I rolled over onto my side and burrowed under the covers some more. It was nice to hear his voice. We really hadn't had much opportunity to talk since he'd visited a couple weeks before.

"It's going well," Rob answered. "Catherine's kind of crazy, but overall everyone's nice and we're working it out." I listened to him talk some more about how it was going, until he asked about the book.

"I love it," I grinned. "Now I just feel bad because all I did was send you a cheesy E-card."

"But I like the cheesy E-card," he laughed.

"Good," I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. "I really liked your card. I'm pretty nuts about you too." I couldn't help but laugh when I said that. Rob was chuckling too. "So you got the Spanish Inquisition, huh?"

"God yes." I could picture him rubbing a hand over his eyes in frustration. I knew he was kind of keeping to himself on set, unless what they were doing was being discussed, so they had to have been extra curious. "They were all pretty surprised to hear that I have an American girlfriend."

"I'm sure they were," I replied with a grin, liking the feeling I got when he called me his girlfriend. "Have you tried to hang out with the rest of the cast anymore? And not just movie talk?"

"A little." I'm sure he was shrugging. "I just don't want it to take away from why I'm there."

I rolled my eyes, "Just remember you might have to do three more movies with them."

I could hear Rob's sigh over the phone, picturing him tugging his hands through his hair, "I know, I know, you just know I like to keep to myself anyway."

"Yeah," I sighed too, knowing that he did. "Maybe we can all go out together when I'm there?"

"If that what you want to do, I'm sure we can work something out. Have you looked at flights or anything yet?"

"Not yet, but I will before it gets too expensive. I do think I will fly out like Saturday morning so I don't have to deal with getting out of studio on time Friday."

"That makes sense," Rob's voice was muffled through a yawn. "So speaking of your studio, how's it going with James?"

"Ugh," I groaned. "He's still being a stupid head. I just don't get it Rob. I can't believe how much of a girl he's been about me having a boyfriend."

"I'm sorry he's being like that, but I'm not sorry that you're my girlfriend," he said.

"I'm not sorry about that either," I grinned, letting out a yawn and glancing at my clock. It was almost 2:30 in the morning; I was going to regret this phone call when I was half asleep during class tomorrow. "Oh man, I really need to go back to sleep, but I really want to keep talking to you."

"We'll talk soon," Rob sighed. "I need to get to bed anyway. I've gotta be up in about four hours to catch a ride to the set."

"Eww," I cringed.

"I agree," he laughed a little. "Sleep well, night Millie."

"Night Rob," I said softly before hanging up the phone. My phone was placed back on the window sill, and I curled up, falling asleep to dreams of Rob.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** I don't claim to know anything about where in Oregon they stayed while filming (or the filming schedule) … so for the sake of this story it's going to Portland. Besides Portland's pretty central to where all of the filming locations were in Oregon when studying IMDB and Google Maps.

This chapter was like pulling teeth to get out. Writer's block is no fun, hence why it's been longer than a week since my last update.

I am not guaranteeing another update for a few weeks, mostly because I'm going out of town next weekend (Arkansas here I come – Woo Piggies!) and the weekend after my best friend is coming into town. I will do my best though.

As usual show me the love … :D

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 15**

_Thursday, March 13, 2008 – Portland, Oregon_

It was hard to believe that I had known Millie for a year and a little more than a week now. I still surprised myself when I thought about walking up to her in London last year, it was by far the best, most spontaneous thing I had done in my life so far. There was no way I could possibly regret it, because somehow she had managed to steal my heart in our e-mails, texts and phone calls over the last year, and the little time we had managed to get to be together.

Millie was going to be here on Saturday, for a whole week, and despite the fact that I would be busy filming for the majority of it, I was looking forward to it. It was nice to know we'd get to see each other again so soon too after my weekend with her in Arkansas.

* * *

From: Millie ( millie_mae_85 g-mail [dot] com )  
To: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson gmail [dot] com )  
Date: Thurs., March 13, 2008 at 6:43 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Plans

--

Is it Saturday yet? I am sooo ready for a break and to spend some time with you. I can't believe how crazy this semester has been. The last studio should be easy breezy but of course not … I think I've got a bad case of senioritis, which is not good to have as an architecture student.

Needless to say, I think this break is just what I need.

I have my 'itinerary' nailed down too. That took forever. But I have so much to see and not much time to do it in because I'll be spending as much time with you as I can. And I have to ask again, are you sure it's okay if I come to the set with you? I don't want to be in the way.

I probably have more to say, but I guess I'll get back to work. Mid-reviews are tomorrow, and I've got to have my stuff pinned up by midnight. Blah.

Looking forward to my freedom and seeing you,  
Millie

* * *

Since she had started planning her trip, I had learned that Millie liked to plan, which was fine because I didn't want her to be bored all week on the set watching me. I was glad that she had been making plans to check out Portland and even to drive up to Seattle for two days. Millie didn't know it yet, but I had been able to weasel my way out of having to be on set so I could go with her to Seattle.

There was a knock on my door. I knew it was Kristen because we had planned on working on one of the scenes that we would be filming tomorrow. I set my laptop down on my bed and stood up to answer the door.

"Hey," I said as I pulled open the door, "Come on in. I've got to finish up this e-mail I'm writing."

"Sure," Kristen followed me into the room, and the door closed behind us. She sat down at the table, playing with the script in her hands. "Who are you writing?"

"Millie," I answered picking the laptop back up and sitting on my bed, leaning against the pillows.

"Is she the book girl?"

"That would be her," I nodded not looking up at her. I finished the last sentence and 'signed' my name.

"You guys write a lot?"

"Not like we used to, because I'm so busy, but when we can …" After I clicked send and logged out of my e-mail account, I closed the laptop. "She's going to be here next week so we're just trying to make plans."

"Cool," Kristen pushed her hands through her hair, as she rested her elbow on the table. "You excited?"

"Yeah," I nodded not able to hide my smile, as I reached for my script that was sitting on the side table. The pages were well worn. "You want to get started?"

"Sure." It looked like she wanted to ask more about Millie, but decided against it.

* * *

From: Rob Pattinson ( rtpattinson gmail [dot] com )  
To: Millie ( millie_mae_85 g-mail [dot] com )  
Date: Thurs., March 13, 2008 at 11:19 p.m.  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Plans

--

I am ready for Saturday too. I'm really excited, as I've mentioned a million times already, that we get to see each other again and so soon at that. One whole week – it's going to be great. : )

It sounds like you could use a break. I bet you'll do just fine on your reviews tomorrow. You'll have to tell me all about it when we're together Saturday night.

I already talked to Catherine and got you cleared to be on set with me, so it's not a problem. I would suggest bringing a book or something though, just in case you get bored. We can't have that.

Kristen just got here we're going to work on some lines for a while, so I need to go.

Looking forward to your freedom,  
Rob

* * *

Kristen and I worked on our lines for a couple of hours before she left so we could get in at least a couple of hours of sleep before having to go back to the set.

It was definitely going to be interesting with Millie around next week. Only Catherine, well now Kristen, knew she was going to be around because I had to make sure it would be okay for her to come on set. I knew Millie would have no problem getting along with everyone she was just that type of person.

* * *

_Saturday, March 15, 2008 – Portland, Oregon_

Today could not have lasted any longer. My mind had been in other places, like on Millie, who I would see in a matter of minutes, if this vehicle would move any faster. Kristen was sulking in the seat behind me over how poorly today had gone, and I wouldn't blame her if she was mad at me for it.

"What was with you today?" She finally asked. Sighing, I turned in my seat so I could look at her.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I've just been in another world today."

"You're friend is coming in today isn't she?" Kristen smiled knowingly. We had talked about Millie a few times since I had first mentioned her Thursday night, and I had to admit it was nice to have someone to talk with about her.

"Yeah," I nodded, unable to hide my own smile, "her flight got in this afternoon."

"I guess that explains it then?"

"Pretty much," I pushed my hands through my hair. "I am just glad we get to spend this week together."

"Have you told her you got out of filming Wednesday and Thursday?"

"Not yet," I answered. "I'm gonna tell her tonight. She made plans to go to Seattle those days, so I'm going to tag along with her on that."

"She'll love that," Kristen smiled.

The van pulled to a stop in front the hotel, and Kristen and I got out. We made our inside and up to the floor our rooms were on. I walked down the hallway quickly and said "goodnight" to Kristen when she stopped at her door. My room was all the way at the end of the hall. I stuck my card key in the reader and pushed the door open.

A light and the TV were still on, but I didn't know if Millie was still awake or not. I set my bag down and then rounded the bathroom corner. She was buried under the covers, but her eyes were open, and I knew she was smiling.

"Hello, hello," I smiled. It was wonderful to see her.

"Hi," she made no move to come out of her cocoon.

"Are you cold?" I stepped out of my shoes and took my jacket off.

"Yes," Millie answered.

"You could of turned the heat up," I leaned onto the bed, so I could kiss her.

"That's what you're for," she smirked and brushed her lips against mine again.

"Of course," I laughed, "Let me wash up and I'll come warm you up. I'm really glad you're here." I stood up straight and looked down at her, cuddled under the covers still.

"I'm glad I'm here too," she smiled, "Now hurry up."

"So bossy," I grabbed something clean to wear and then disappeared into the bathroom.

After showering quickly, and turning off the TV and lights, I crawled into bed next to Millie. She immediately curled up next to me and stuck her cold feet in between my warm ones. I put my arm around her, so happy to be near her again.

"How was your day?" Millie already had a hand in my hair.

"Bad," I sighed, "I was too distracted."

"By what?" She grinned, knowing fully what I was distracted by.

"I think you know," I smirked and wiggled my eyebrows.

"I'm not gonna be a big distraction all week, am I?" Millie sighed. I knew she had already been worried about being on set a few days this week.

"No," I shook my head, "I was just anxious to see you, but now you're here so I'm good. Are you warm now?"

"Yes," she snuggled closer to me if that was even possible. "You're a good blanket."

Laughing quietly, I shook my head and kissed her forehead. Millie tilted her head and brushed her lips against mine. I was definitely looking forward to the week ahead of us.

**End Notes:**

Just in case you're interested, which you all should be, I've started a new fiction site for Rob. So check out http:// www [dot ] RobertPattinsonFiction [ dot ] com. If you've got anything to share feel free to post it on the storyboard!

Love ya'll!


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** Okay so, that was the longest time between chapters ever! I hated not being able to post for you guys, but getting to see friends I never get to see anymore on top of work just did not make it plausible these past couple of weeks.

As always I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'm looking forward to reading and replying to each and every one of your comments.

This chapter goes out to Traci for letting me ramble randomly and for helping me take over the NF MB, we really need to move it to . :D And one day I will actually edit your next chapter for you.

And just because I can, everyone come and hang out at the MB and Storyboard at RobertPattinsonFiction[dot]com. I'd like to make that site look alive, and for those of you who have already made your way over there: I'm so happy you have!

***Please Please Please *** bookmark one of the following locations for this story, because someone reported this fiction as being a real person fic, and I don't want you guys to miss out on it if it ends up being deleted:

www[dot]n-outsync[dot]net/stories/rawtf/index[dot]html

www[dot]twilighted[dot]net/viewstory[dot]php?sid=2429

www[dot]robertpattinsonfiction[dot]com

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 16**

_Sunday, March 16, 2008 – Portland, Oregon_

I was in Portland with Rob and could not have been any happier to wake up next to him again. He looked really tired when he came into his hotel room the night before, but I had been really excited to see him as I peered out from under the covers.

"What time is it?" I heard him mumble from behind me. Rob had buried his face in my neck, holding me as close to him as possible. I wasn't sure how he knew I was awake.

"8:30," I answered, rolling over onto my back. He made no attempt to move and ended up half on top of me, his nose still pressed into my neck. I could feel every breath he took.

"We should probably get out of bed soon," Rob sighed.

I hummed, comfortable and content to not move. Rob turned over onto his back, taking me with him. I grunted when I landed on his chest.

"Hey, watch the knee," he grinned, dragging out the word 'hey' playfully.

"Hey, whose fault is that?" I mocked his tone, laughing and rearranging myself so we'd both be more comfortable. My hair was down and it fell around us as I leaned down to kiss him. Rob's arms wrapped around me as I settled on him more, deepening the pressure against his lips.

When we pulled away from each other a few minutes later, I reluctantly crawled out of bed so I could start getting ready for the day. I was really excited to be going with him to the set even though he wouldn't tell me what they were filming, but he had promised that I would like the location.

"Millie," Rob knocked on the bathroom door after I had shut the water off.

"Yeah?" I asked as I wrapped a towel around myself.

"Did you want to eat before we have to leave?" he asked.

"That would be good, should we just grab something downstairs?" I finished drying off.

"There's a coffee shop a few doors down from the hotel, so if you hurry we can get something from there."

"That's fine, I could use some coffee. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"K."

I put my clothes on and since there wasn't much time to dry my hair, I pulled it up into a messy bun. Rob was putting his shoes on when I came out of the bathroom. After I put my own shoes on and threw my sketchbook and a book to read in my bag, we made our way to the coffee shop.

We ordered coffee and bagels to go and went back to the hotel where there were cars parked out front for everyone involved in the movie. There were two people already in the van Rob picked for us to ride in. Both of them stopped their conversation when I climbed in.

"Hi," I smiled, taking a seat and then reaching for the two cups of coffee Rob was holding. After I took them, he climbed in over me and grabbed his cup, nodding to the two in the back. I turned in the seat to look at them, "I'm Millie, Rob's girlfriend."

Both of them were grinning ear to ear, looking between myself and Rob. Rob ignored them, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Girlfriend? You been holding out on us Rob?" The guy who asked this turned to me next, holding out his hand. "I'm Jackson, this is Ashley."

I moved the cup I was holding to my other hand and shook his, then Ashley's, "Nice to meet ya'll."

"Ya'll? Really Millie?" Rob finally spoke, grinning over his coffee cup.

"What, I'm from the South, I'm allowed to say ya'll," I grinned back at him, wanting to laugh at hearing him say it in his British accent.

"Where in the South?" Jackson asked.

"Dallas," I answered.

"Awesome, I'm kind of from all over, but I call Midland home," he smiled.

"Ah, the desert – hate the desert." I opened the bag Rob and I's breakfast was in and handed him his bagel. "So are you guys in the movie with Rob?" I stressed the word 'in', as I pulled out my own bagel, which already had cream cheese spread on it.

"Yeah," Ashley nodded.

"Ashley's Alice and Jackson is Jasper," Rob spoke through a mouthful of bagel.

"Very cool," tearing off a piece of my bagel, I popped it into my mouth. "They're probably my second favorite two characters after Edward and Bella of course."

"So you're a fan?"

I nodded and swallowed, "I read the first two, oh, last summer? Does that sound right?" I turned toward Rob.

"Yeah," he replied, "it had to be because you bugged me as soon as I told you about the script, which I must have got a month or so after."

"So you're to blame for him being here?" Jackson joked.

"All my fault," I shrugged, grinning at Rob, as the van started to move.

"It is all your fault," Rob teased, taking another bite of his bagel. I chatted with Jackson and Ashley until we pulled off of the road we had been driving on for a while and down a driveway.

"Rob," I leaned toward the window in excitement at the sight of the house before me. "Do you see that?" I had already forgotten about the two people in the backseat.

"What do you think?" Rob had moved so he was leaning against me, pressed up against my back.

"I think that is one sexy piece of architecture," I turned to look at him and then back at the house as the van pulled to a stop. "I want it. Is it supposed to be the Cullens'?"

"Yup," Rob nodded.

"Damn, I want to be a vampire," I sighed and he laughed, kissing my cheek.

"Um … can we get out?" Ashley's voice broke my trance.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I smiled at her and Jackson, moving so they could climb out. I grabbed my bag and followed them, stopping again to stare at the house in front of me. "What do you know about it?"

"Nothing," Rob stepped out behind me.

"Have you learned nothing from me Robbie?" I turned to him, putting my hands on my hips. "It's very important for you to know these things."

"But that's what I have you for," Rob kissed my forehead, "to find out about it and then tell me." He grabbed one of my hands off of my hip and squeezed it. "Come on, I've got to check in with Catherine and then I'll take you inside."

"Ok," I smiled and followed him, keeping my hand in his. At least I now had something to do for the day and that was definitely going to be sketching the house before me. I was introduced to Catherine Hardwicke and a few other people. We chatted with them for a while and then Rob excused us so he could take me through the house.

As we walked up the steps I reached out to touch a portion of the concrete wall, in true architecture student fashion. Rob stopped and raised an eyebrow, questioning me.

"Haven't you felt this?" I asked. "You should … it's really smooth." The concrete was cold and damp, but I loved the way it felt under my fingertips.

Rob stepped closer to me and whispered in my ear, "Are you going to lick it?"

I busted out laughing, having forgotten about those e-mails from a year before. I reached up and patted his cheek, "How about you give it a try."

"You first," Rob shook his head, laughing.

"What's so funny?" We were interrupted from our own little world by a girl who was a few years younger than us.

"Millie," Rob answered.

"You're the one that brought it up!" I exclaimed and then turned to the other girl who was clearly amused by our banter. "It's just this dumb inside joke, I guess." I shrugged. "I'm Millie, Rob's girlfriend."

"Kristen," she nodded.

"I've heard a lot about you," I smiled.

"I haven't heard too much about you, Rob's so quiet."

"Yeah," I agreed, threading my fingers through Rob's when he reached for my hand. "We'll have to work on that." I smiled at Rob, who rolled his eyes in return.

"Do you want to finish looking at the house?" He asked changing the subject to get the attention off of him.

"Do you even have to ask?" I smiled at him and then turned to Kristen, "Let's talk later."

"Sure," Kristen nodded, "see you guys in a bit."

Rob and I continued our way up the stairs, and he opened the glass door, letting me go in front of him.

"They have it all set up to be the Cullens' so a lot of the stuff in here is for the movie," Rob explained as we made our way upstairs after exploring the small bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor.

"Can I just say, if I haven't mentioned it already, that I want this house," I stated.

"Don't you want to see all of it first?"

"I think I've seen enough," I smiled confidently, and he shook his head. We came to the top of the stairs and directly to our left I could see the dining room and some of the kitchen, there were several cameras set up in the spaces. I headed to the right into what looked like a more formal living room. "They have Mies chairs!"

"They have what?" Rob asked. I could tell he was amused by my excitement over something so simple.

"These chairs," I pointed to two of the chairs in the space, "were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe." The chairs I was talking about were covered in orange-brown leather, and the way the seat and the back of the chairs angled into each other almost gave it the appearance of a wide "v", while the thin, flat metal legs curved down as they met the floor.

"He was a Bauhaus architect and a lot of his buildings are in the Chicago area." I was about to start on a tangent, Mies was one of my favorite architects. "These chairs were designed for the Barcelona Pavilion in 1929."

"Oh," Rob said. He looked like he wanted to say more but we were interrupted by two men, who stepped into the bright room.

"You know about architecture?" One of them asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "It's what I'm studying."

"Fantastic," he smiled and held out his hand, "I'm Jeff Kovel the architect."

"Millie Reinhardt," I shook his hand, and he moved on to Rob who introduced himself. I introduced myself to the second guy who happened to be the owner, John Hoke. "This house is awesome, what I've seen of it so far, I like how the spaces are laid out and the materials …" I sighed.

"Millie had a love affair with the concrete wall outside," Rob teased, poking me in the back lightly.

"You just don't know quality when you see it," I teased back and couldn't resist sticking my tongue out. Rob laughed. "I hope you don't mind us snooping around?" It came out more like a question.

"Not a problem, the house has already turned into somewhat of a circus anyway," Mr. Hoke answered.

"Yeah," I agreed. "So did you commission this house?"

"No," he shook his head, and the two explained that it was a spec house. After a few minutes, Rob excused himself to go to makeup and I immersed myself even more in a conversation with the two men about art and architecture.

I ended up getting a tour through the house with Mr. Kovel and Mr. Hoke, and as we were making our way back downstairs and outside Mr. Kovel invited me to visit his office in Portland Tuesday. I couldn't wait to tell Rob that.

Rob was standing outside, talking to a few people, and after I said bye to the two men I had been talking with, I walked over to where he was. He smiled at me and excused himself from whoever he was talking to. I hadn't noticed how much makeup he had on until he stood in front of me.

"Got a hot date?" I teased.

"I'm looking at her," he winked.

"Whoa, you've got contacts in too," I just noticed the brown contacts covering his natural blue-gray eyes.

"Yeah, I don't like them," Rob made a disgusted face. I stepped up on my toes and kissed his cheek, reassuringly. I could tell he was bothered by them. "Hey now, you're gonna mess up my makeup," he laughed. I rolled my eyes, laughing too. "Do you want to hang outside or come and watch?"

"I won't be in the way?" I asked. I really did want to watch him work for a little while. I was curious to see.

"Nope," he shook his head. "I have to get inside before they come looking for me."

"K," I smiled, "Guess what?"

"What?" He asked, grabbing my hand as we headed back inside the house.

"Mr. Kovel invited me to his office on Tuesday."

"That's awesome Millie. I'm sure you'll have fun doing that." I nodded in agreement.

After meeting the rest of the "Cullen" family, Catherine set me up behind one of the monitors so I could watch and be out of everyone's way. It was fun to watch Rob work and see the book come to life; albeit, the little I saw was not how I actually pictured it.

I did enjoy watching Rob work. He really was good at what he was doing even if he didn't believe it himself. I watched until they moved upstairs to film the bedroom scene and then decided to step outside so I could take some pictures of the house and sketch it.

"I think I should get a sticker that says 'I'm Rob's girlfriend' because I keep getting asked who I am." I followed Rob into one of the trailers a few hours later. He laughed. I really had been getting a lot of questions about who I was, especially when I had been sitting outside, in the cold, sketching.

"Well you are a new face on the set," he replied, picking up a bottle of water. "Did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Yeah, it was fun to see the book come to life," I sat down. "And I always enjoy sketching. This house is just awesome Rob, and I'm really, really excited about going to Mr. Kovel's office on Tuesday."

"Oh, speaking of things to be excited about," Rob grinned. "I forgot to tell you this last night, but I get to go to Seattle with you on Wednesday and Thursday."

"Really?" I was definitely thrilled to hear that Rob and I would get two full days to spend together. Rob nodded. "Sweet."

"You ready to get out of here?"

"Yes," I answered. As much as I was enjoying being on the set, I was ready to be back at the hotel to spend some time with Rob.

"Let me get this gunk off of my face and out of my eyes, and we can catch a ride."

**End Notes:**

Here's a fantastic little Web page that has the floor plans to the Hoke (Cullen) Residence as well as some great pictures: www[dot]arquitour[dot]com/hoke-residence-skylab-architecture/2009/01/

Here's an article on the house as well: www[dot]skylabdesign[dot]com/files/0801_SPACES_M1[dot]pdf

And the architect's, Jeff Kovel, Web site: Skylab Architecture, www[dot]skylabdesign[dot]com/

If anyone is interested in seeing the Mies chair: www[dot]allartdeco[dot]com/i//Barcelona_Chair[dot]jpg

BTW: Mies is pronounced "Meese" like "Reese".

And again ***Please Please Please *** bookmark one of the following locations for this story, because someone reported this fiction as being a real person fic, and I don't want you guys to miss out on it if it ends up being deleted:

www[dot]n-outsync[dot]net/stories/rawtf/index[dot]html

www[dot]twilighted[dot]net/viewstory[dot]php?sid=2429

www[dot]robertpattinsonfiction[dot]com

Okay, I'm done … feedback, feedback, feedback!


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Yeah, I totally forgot to post this last weekend.

As a reminder, you can also read this story at Twilighted and RobertPattinsonFiction [dot] com.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 17**

_Tuesday, March 18, 2008 – Portland, Oregon_

Millie had made plans with some of the other cast members to go out after we finished filming for the day and she got back from the architecture firm she had been invited to visit. I knew she was excited about this evening, and I was too, but I also had my reservations about it because I knew we'd be getting all sorts of questions. No one had been overly nosy yet, but I could see all the questions in their eyes whenever they looked at me.

Millie was getting along with all of them, as I had expected, and I was happy she was because they really did all make good friends, even though I mostly kept to myself.

"Hey you're back!" Millie grinned as she came out of the bathroom. I had come in while she was in the shower. She walked over to where I was standing and hugged and kissed me. "How was filming today?"

"Not bad, we were able to get through a few scenes," I answered, keeping my arms locked around her waist. I was happy to see her.

"That's good," she smiled. "Everyone still wants to go out tonight right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "They want to meet downstairs in about 45 minutes."

"Cool. Are you going to wash up?"

"What are you saying Millie? Do I stink?"

"Mmm …" she stuck her nose in my shirt and took in a deep breath, "only a little." Millie grinned up at me.

"I guess, I'll go shower," I sighed, reluctantly moving away from her and going to the dresser where I had stashed my clothes. I found something to wear and headed to the bathroom. When I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Millie was standing in the little dressing area in front of the mirror putting on her makeup. "How did your thing go today?"

"Oh, it was awesome," Millie answered, turning to look at me. "Mr. Kovel's work is incredible, but we already knew that from the Hoke Residence. I got a lot of really great advice and was able to show him my sketches."

I could tell she was excited about that.

"However, I wish I could have shown him my portfolio, to get some feedback on that, but he did like my sketches."

"That's awesome Millie," I wasn't surprised that he had liked what she had shown him. "I'm sure he could see how talented you are just by looking at them."

"Thanks," she smiled at my compliment. "You know what else was cool?"

"What's that?" I asked enjoying her excitement and silently wishing we could just hole up in the room for the next two days instead of going to Seattle, but at least we would be together.

"He is working on another house to be built in the same area, so he was showing me the drawings and asked for my input."

"Is he going to use any of your ideas?" I asked. "You should get commission for it."

"We'll see," Millie laughed. "He's got a really nice office too; I could work there."

"Well be sure you send him your resume and portfolio when you get home," I suggested. I know she had already been sending out her resume and portfolio because she would be graduating in May.

"I was planning on in," she agreed. "Plus he asked me to anyway."

"Brilliant." Millie was looking very tempting. I wrapped my arms around her, turning her so she was pressed against me. I loved how perfectly she fit against me. I was starting to wonder, even more, what it would be like to go beyond our kisses and cuddling. I wondered if she did too. It wasn't something we had discussed, but I think we were headed in that direction.

I pressed my lips to her forehead; to the bridge of her nose; and then to her lips. I could feel her relax even more against me and her fingers laced through my hair. I deepened the pressure against her lips and she reciprocated.

"Do you really want to go out tonight?" I kept my eyes closed and my forehead against hers, as I spoke a few minutes later.

"Yes," I knew she was smiling by the tone of her voice. Millie pressed her lips against mine again. "You can have me all to yourself for the next two days."

"Good," I sighed. "I'm going to hold you to that too." I was, but for now I'd have to share her with everyone else for the evening.

"I don't doubt that," she stepped away from me. "You ready?"

"Gotta put my shoes on."

When we were both ready, we headed out of the room and toward the lift. Kellan and Jackson were both already there.

"Hey guys," Millie smiled at the two.

"Hey Ms. Millie, we missed you today!" Kellan exclaimed.

"Awe," she shook her head, laughing a little. "I'm sorry, I was busy."

The lift doors opened and the four of us stepped in.

"What were you doing?" Jackson asked.

I pressed the button for the lobby and the doors closed.

"I was checking out some of the buildings here, and then I went to Mr. Kovel's office," she answered. "It was a very good day."

"And now it's going to be better, because we are about to par-tay!" Kellan exclaimed. I wasn't sure where his enthusiasm was coming from, but it was funny. Millie, Jackson and I all laughed.

"Want to hear a stupid architect joke?" Millie asked us, a small grin on her face. Her question was random.

"Sure Millie," I replied taking her hand in mine. She squeezed mine.

"What do architect's like to do in their spare time?"

"What?" Kellan asked.

"Parti," she answered, with a smirk on her face. I was puzzled and I could tell Kellan and Jackson were too. "A parti is a type of diagrammatic drawing we do. It just shows the basic geometries and central idea of a building."

"God, that's bad," Kellan laughed, as the lift doors opened. He stepped off first.

"I told you," Millie stepped out of the elevator, laughing, and I followed keeping my hand in hers.

"Now what made you think of that?" I asked.

"When he said party," she shrugged, "it always makes me think of that for some reason. So who has a better joke to share?" Millie asked. Kellan immediately started in on one as we made our way to the couches to wait for the rest of our group.

After the girls came down, we walked to a nearby restaurant and bar that we went to about once a week. As we waited for a table, Millie was cuddling up against me with her face almost buried in my chest despite talking with Kristen and Nikki about whatever it was they were discussing. I was too caught up in having her close to me like this as usual.

We were seated at a table that had chairs on one side and a booth on the other. Millie and I sat on the booth side, and she leaned against me comfortably.

"So what's on your necklace?" I heard Kristen ask Millie while we waited for our food. She was seated on the other side of Millie.

"Big Ben," Millie answered, bringing her hand up to the small charm and fingering it. "Rob gave it to me for my birthday."

"That's so sweet," Kristen grinned at me. "So why'd you pick Big Ben?"

"It's a part of one of Millie's favorite buildings," I answered, putting my arm around Millie's shoulder and playing with her hair. I could see that everyone was now focusing on this conversation, which I guess I wouldn't be getting out of. I could see that the girls were going to eat this story right up.

"And it's where we met," Millie stated, placing her hand on my thigh and rubbing it affectionately.

"You can't do that Millie," I whispered into her ear. Her touch was soft and tempting.

"Sorry love," Millie smiled. She stopped what she was doing, but kept her hand there. She had never called me 'love' before, and I had to say I really liked it. I kissed the side of her head after she turned back to the rest to finish telling them how we met. "Would you believe me if I said that Rob was the one that came up to me?"

"Really?" Ashley asked, clearly surprised. Everyone else seemed to be as well.

Millie nodded, "I was sketching the parliament and he walked right up to me; nervous of course." Jackson and Kellan decided it was appropriate to laugh and tease me. I groaned, tugging at my hair, embarrassed. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal to everyone that I had initiated a conversation with Millie. Was I that reclusive?

"I wanted to know what you were doing," I spoke up. "Normally you don't see the same person standing at the same corner after 30 minutes or however long it was."

"Excuses, excuses you just wanted to talk to the pretty girl," Kellan grinned taking a sip of his drink. I could see Millie's face turn pink in the dim light as everyone laughed. I could feel my face heat up a little too. I couldn't deny that fact.

"Anyway," Millie sighed, "we met and hung out for the rest of the evening, and stayed in touch."

"I think it's really cool that you two have been able to stay in touch," Kristen said.

"Me too," Millie agreed as our food was brought to the table and the topic of conversation changed. We ended up talking about "Twilight" and how crazy it was that it seemed to get more and more popular everyday. The evening went quickly, and before I knew it Millie and I were back in my room for the night.

"What time do you want to leave in the morning?" I asked Millie.

"They're going to drop the rental car off at nine, so I would like to leave then," she answered. "Can you be up?"

"Yup," I nodded, sitting down so I could take my shoes off.

"Cool, I'm excited," she smiled.

"Me too," I agreed, forgetting about my shoes, I just wanted to kiss her. "Come here." I held out my hands, and she stepped toward me as I took her hands in mine. Millie stood between my legs and leaned in to kiss me.

I couldn't wait for the next two days, but as glad as I was that they were upon us, I didn't want them to go fast. I knew I would enjoy them immensely, wishing and hoping for really good things to happen, because I loved Millie and I wanted to show her that.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Can I just say how much I love this chapter? Even I was squealing a little as I wrote it.

Two for the price of one ... I figured I'd post this one too before I forget.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~ **

**Chapter 18**

_Wednesday, March 19, 2008 – Portland, Oregon / Seattle, Washington_

"Are you ready?" I asked Rob as I walked out of the hotel. I had handed him our bags to put in the trunk and gone into the hotel's convenience store to buy some drinks and snacks for our trip to Seattle. I was excited about driving there and of course getting to spend time with Rob because he had been able to get out of filming for these two days.

"Yup," Rob was leaning against the closed car doors, waiting for me. Walking up to him, I stood up on my toes and kissed him. Even though he was in his usual state of dress, he just looked so appealing. "What was that for?"

"No reason," I shrugged, smiling at Rob before turning to get in the car. Rob walked around to the passenger side and got in. After I handed him the plastic bag, I started the car and put my seatbelt on.

"What'd you get?" Rob rifled through the plastic bag, and pulled out two bottles of Coke, a box of powdered donuts and some candy bars. "This is healthy."

"Hey now, I've seen some of the things you eat," I replied.

Rob scoffed, rolling his eyes and opening the box of donuts anyway.

"Put your seatbelt on," I reached for the directions the concierge had printed out for me. "And read the directions."

"Yes ma'am," he pulled his seatbelt on and grabbed the directions from me. Once we were on the highway, Rob hooked my iPod to the car stereo and was scrolling through it trying to find something for us to listen too.

"Millie," Rob said, clearing his throat, "first you ask me to buy you a Just Jack song and now you have *NSYNC on your iPod? I am very disappointed in you."

"But they're *NSYNC!" I exclaimed.

"That's no excuse," Rob rolled his eyes.

"It could be 5ive," a smile passed over my face.

"Shit, Millie," he pushed his fingers through his hair, "please tell me you did not listen to them."

"Baby when the lights go out, I'll show you what it's all about," I laughed through the only lyrics of theirs I could remember.

"I _cannot_ be your boyfriend anymore." Rob laughed too.

"You know you love me," I smiled at him, reaching for his free hand and squeezing it.

"After that, I'm not so sure why," he sighed, playing with my fingers. "Let's see what other nonsense you have on here. I can't believe you know that song."

"My friends and I liked 5ive, not as much as *NSYNC. They were like the dirty boy band," I stated, "until *NSYNC coined that whole 'dirty pop' thing."

"You really should stop while you're ahead, love," Rob laughed. "I'm gonna have to teach you a little something about music."

"Actually, what you need to do is send me some of your songs," I glanced over at him and then switched lanes to pass a semi that was moving a little too slowly for my tastes.

"Yeah, I still need to do that don't I?" He set the iPod in one of the compartments as the song "Autobahn" by Anberlin came on.

_And we're driving just as fast as we can  
and we're racing to outrun the wind  
It's just me and you and you and me so wild eyed  
so young, bright eyed and free_

"Mm … I love Anberlin," I said taping my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat.

"I would hope so since they're on your iPod."

I stuck my tongue out at Rob and reached for a donut.

_  
And we're trying to get out of here  
and a small town romance draws ever near  
And I swear we're in a movie  
the highlight comes when you kiss me_

The stereo sings our song  
and we don't hesitate to sing along

Drive to dream to live, we could see the world tonight  
Here to hope tomorrow we could see the world

"I like how this song kind of fits in with our little trip," I stated.

"Yeah it does, doesn't it?" Rob responded, taking in the lyrics.

And we're miles from the middle of nowhere  
and neither of us seems to care  
And that's why I love you so, shut your mouth girl  
no one has to know  
And time seems to drip like Dali  
and neither of us has a place to be  
So for once and forever tell me all of your dreams

We listened to the rest of the song, with me singing along, which Rob seemed to get a kick out of for some reason and when it ended, he reached for the iPod again.

"We should see how well you know what's on your iPod," Rob said, hitting the button so it would move to the next song. I couldn't help but laugh when the opening music to *NSYNC's "Bye, Bye, Bye" started. "Next."

"Hey! I didn't even get to say who it was!" I laughed and he just shook his head as the next song came on. "This is Robbie Seay Band, 'Song of Hope'." We listened to it for a minute and then he changed it to the next track.

_I just wasted 10 seconds of your life …_

"Relient K, 'Crayons Can Melt On Us for All I Care'," I giggled at the brilliance that was my favorite band. After the 10 second track, a Mandy Moore song started and I named it. The track was "Can't You Just Adore Her?"

"Hey I have an idea Rob!" I said excitedly when I thought of something. He looked at me like I had three heads and raised his brow in question. "You should do a movie her!"

"I should?" Rob asked sounding unsure.

"Yes. It would be fantastic. I love her movies."

"I'll keep that in mind," he shook his head, laughing a little. Rob and I played that little game for a while until I got bored with it. He left the iPod on shuffle and we just let it play.

"So you didn't say much last night when everyone was talking about the movie," I stated after a few songs, reaching to turn it down.

"What do you mean?" Rob asked, turning in his seat so he was facing me.

"I guess," I thought about it for a second, "how do you feel about the increasing popularity it seems to be getting?"

"Oh," he ran his fingers through his hair and thought for a minute, "It's pretty insane, if it's like this now, I don't want to know what it'll be like in December when it comes out."

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding. "You're going to have a lot of girls after you."

"Yeah right," Rob scoffed.

"Hey, now, don't be so quick to put yourself down." I glanced over at him and continued, "I know if I wasn't already dating you I would." He sighed, shaking his head and resting it against the window. "You are a great guy and people will see that."

"I hope so."

The drive to Seattle didn't take long at all, and after we found our hotel, checked in and grabbed some lunch, Rob and I made our way to the first site, which was the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolhaas.

"That is quite the library," Rob said as we stood across the street from it. At the angle we were standing the steel and glass façade looked more silver, and the buildings across the street reflected in the glass.

"Isn't that cool?" I had to dig my camera out of my bag so I could take pictures of it. I started to take pictures, and Rob followed along as I got my kick out of the contemporary building. I liked how he didn't mind my going a little crazy over something so inanimate and that he would just listen while I yammered on about things he probably didn't understand.

We must have spent an hour or so exploring the inside of the large building, before heading down 4th Street, which would take us to the Space Needle. I was glad the weather was cooperating, it was cold, but at least the sun was shining. Rob and I talked and joked around the whole way there, and he was patient while I stopped to take pictures, even sneaking in a few of him.

When we made it to the top of the Space Needle, we walked around the observation deck, taking in the different views of the city, mountains and port. Rob kept me close to his side as we stood looking at the mountains, I was glad he did because when the wind blew it made me shiver. Time got away from us between our conversation and stolen kisses, and before I knew it, it was dinnertime.

"Do you want to have dinner at the restaurant here?" Rob asked as we started toward the elevator; my hand in his. The restaurant was one level below the main observation deck.

"Sure," I answered. We ate our dinner slowly, not wanting the time to go any faster than it had been, but anticipating the rest of the night's events to go further. I was anxious to get back to the hotel, and I believed he was too; I was ready to take that next step with Rob.

On our way back to the hotel, Rob and I were more affectionate with each other than usual. Every time we had to stop at a crosswalk, he would kiss me and sometimes his hands would end up in the back pockets of my jeans. I teased him about it but still pressed myself closer to him loving every moment.

When we walked into our room and the door shut behind us, Rob locked it as I took of my scarf and jacket and laid it on top of my bag. He shrugged out of his jacket, laying it over mine.

"Just give me a minute," I said and disappeared into the bathroom. I took my time to calm my nerves and brush my teeth. I was nervous about the three words that had been rolling around in my head all day and about what I knew we were going to do. I could feel it in the bottom of my stomach.

Rob was sitting at the foot of the bed, his shoes and socks already off when I came out of the bathroom. I wasn't nervous any longer when I saw how he was looking at me. I stopped in front of him, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him. I brushed my lips against his.

Today had been perfect. It reminded me a lot of the day we met, we had had a lot of fun. Every time Rob had looked at me, laughed with me, kissed me, held my hand, told me a story, just everything, I knew I loved him.

"I have a secret," I said, removing my lips from his, and keeping my forehead pressed against his. Rob's hands grasped at my hips.

"You do? What's that?" He asked, brushing his lips against mine again and smiling.

"I love you," I whispered, my eyes never wavered from his. Rob tightened his grip, and I took that as a sign to step closer to him than I already was.

"I love you too, Millie," Rob sounded a little nervous to say it back, but he was smiling. I crashed my lips against his and moved so I was straddling him, my knees bending on either side of his legs on the bed. I wanted to be as close to him as possible, and I knew he did too. He wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me even closer.

Unconsciously, my fingers worked their way into his hair, and Rob sighed against my lips as I did. I was incredibly happy at this moment to be with him; to know how he felt about me and me him. Rob kissed his way from my lips to my ear and then spoke, "You should lose the shoes."

"I can think of a lot more to lose than just those," I laughed, sighing as he kissed below my ear.

"Good point." Rob's smiling eyes met mine, and before I knew it, he had me lying on my back on the bed, and was tugging my shoes off, taking my socks with them. It took him a second so he was hovering over me, leaning down to kiss me again.

"A little excited are we?" I couldn't help but tease him a little, playing with the hair on the back of his neck.

"Millie," Rob looked down at me, his face entirely serious, "you make me happy, and I want to make you happy."

"I already am." And I was. I moved my arms down, so I could pull him closer, needing to feel him, as we kissed again. I don't think Rob would ever have to worry about not making me happy; even if I was mad at him, I don't think I'd be unhappy as long as we were together.

We were kissing and our hands were exploring when Rob stopped his assault on my neck. I was disappointed and gave him a dirty look as he looked down at me. "I know this is the most inopportune moment to be asking this," he sighed, "but you have done this before right? I just want to know because we haven't talked at all about this, and …"

"That's okay," I ran my hand over his jaw line, cutting him off. "And the answer is only once," I brushed my thumb over his lips, letting out a small sigh at the next thing I was going to say. "He stopped talking to me the next day."

"What an idiot," he leaned down and kissed me again. "I hope you know I could never do that to you."

"I know," I sighed heavily as his hand moved slowly down my side and he pushed my shirt up a little so he could run his fingers over my bare skin. "I love you Rob."

Rob's next kiss said it all.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: **Oh, fudge … this chapter kicked my butt. I apologize if there are any typos, I'm not feelin' editing at this moment.

As usual I hope you enjoy it, and I am still very appreciative of any review I receive! You all make my day.

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 19**

_Thursday, March 20, 2008 – Seattle, Washington / Portland, Oregon_

I woke up to the best feeling possible, well every time I got to wake up next to Millie was good, but this time was different because of how we had fallen asleep: naked and satisfied. Millie was perfect in every way possible, and I got to love her from head to toe after she told me that she loved me. I didn't think hearing her say those three words could have been any better, but it was.

Millie stirred a little, intertwining her feet with mine and hugging herself closer to me. I traced my fingers softly up and down her side, loving the feel of her bare skin underneath my fingertips. I hoped I would wake her up, so we could repeat last night's events before we had to leave to go back to Portland.

"Mmm … Robbie," she sighed in a softer tone than she had when I was moving in and out of her last night. Just the thought made me shiver a little and really want to go again. Millie pressed her lips to my chest, keeping her eyes closed. She had to be awake.

"Are you awake?" I asked quietly, moving my hand farther down her body and kissing her forehead.

"No," she sighed again, but I could feel her smiling against my chest.

"Hmm …" I sighed too and spoke, "I guess I'll just have to wake my love up. Now how should I do that?" I pinched the skin underneath my fingers. "Ow, what was that for?" I asked when she smacked my arm. Millie was trying to her hide her giggles, her face still buried in my chest.

"You have to kiss it and make it better," Millie pouted a few moments later when she had composed herself. She tilted her head to look up at me, brown eyes bright as she did.

"I can do that," I kissed her lips first, rolling her over she was on her back underneath me, and then trailed my lips down her soft skin to where my fingers had just been. I could feel Millie relax underneath me as we went into our own little world.

"And how are you feeling this morning?" I asked as I settled back down on the bed next to her several minutes later.

"Mmm … bene," Millie sighed, rolling over onto her side. She reached up and pushed my hair off of my forehead, placing her leg over mine.

"Just good?" I asked. "Certainly there's a better word …" I could think of a million better adjectives for how I was feeling after being with her the way I just had been.

"Hmm …" she hummed. I could see in her eyes she was plotting something. Millie ran her fingers over my jaw line, and spoke teasingly, "Well yeah, I just … you know, can't have it going to your head. … Well, on second thought, we do need to work on that ego of yours, you're never going to make it in Hollywood as you are."

"Oh, Millie," I laughed and kissed her forehead, pulling her closer to me.

"I love you," Millie said.

"I love you too," I wouldn't ever get tired of hearing her say that. We were quiet for a few moments, listening to each other breathe and staring at each other. "Do we have to go back to Portland?"

"You do – I don't," Millie smirked, poking me a little.

"You have to go back to Arkansas though."

"Eh, don't remind me," she sighed, "I'm ready for school to be over."

"You're almost done."

"Thank goodness."

"What time do we have to be out of here?" I asked as I looked at the clock on the table behind her. It was already half past ten.

"Noon."

"I guess we ought to get out of bed," I resigned.

"Probably," Millie unwound herself from around me and kept herself covered as she sat up. I already missed her next to me. She found the T-shirt I had worn yesterday at the end of the bed. "May I?"

"Go for it." I sat up as she pulled the shirt on over her head before standing up.

"So," she stood at the edge of the bed, "should we hang out in Seattle more or go back to Portland?"

"The sooner we get to Portland the sooner we can hole up in the hotel room," I suggested.

"You are right my friend," Millie leaned forward, the palms of her hands resting on the bed, and she kissed me. "I like the way you think."

I laughed, "Did you see everything you want to?" I had to make sure.

"Yeah," Millie nodded, standing straight again. "I'm going to take a shower, and then you can have it."

"K," I watched as she gathered her clothes for the day and disappeared into the bathroom. I didn't hear the door shut all of the way and then the shower water came on. I had to wonder if she was up to something. My curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to see if she would let me join her.

I drove us back to Portland and we got back to the hotel later afternoon. Millie tossed her bag on the floor and plopped down on the bed, tired from everything that we had done in the last 24 hours.

"You aren't going to fall asleep on me are you?" I asked, looking down at her.

"Nope – just resting my eyes," she answered looking up at me.

"Sure you are," I teased, sitting down next her, stretching my legs in front of me. It felt good after being in the car for three hours. Millie snuggled up next to me. "What should we do tonight?"

"We should sleep," Millie answered.

"That's no fun," I wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her head.

"Just a nap that's all I want," she sighed.

"You should have slept in the car."

"I can't sleep in cars." Millie closed her eyes.

"Oh, fine … take a nap, and then we can order up some dinner and maybe a movie."

"Sounds good." She was already half asleep. I really didn't mind her wanting to nap, especially when she was curled up against me like this. I closed my eyes, tired as well.

I woke up an hour or so later when Millie was climbing off of the bed, with a kink in my neck from how I had fallen asleep. "Oh, man," I rubbed my neck and groaned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting the room service menu," she answered walking to the desk in the corner and picking up the binder that held it. Millie made her way back to the bed and sat down next to me again. "What are you hungry for?"

"Mm … food," I rested my head on her shoulder.

"That doesn't help," Millie laughed opening the binder. We looked through the menu and after deciding what we were going to order, Millie called it in. I found the remote and searched through the movies to see if there was anything both she and I would be interested in watching.

I decided on _Into the Wild_; I had liked it the first time I'd seen it and I knew Millie had read the book, but didn't think she saw the movie yet. It didn't take too long for our food to arrive. We settled on the bed with our food in our laps and the movie playing on the TV.

At the end of the movie, I looked down at Millie, who at some point had lain down with her head in my lap, she was wiping her eyes.

"What?" she asked laughing lightly, "It's so sad, and his eyes were so haunting." Millie turned on her back so she was looking directly up at me.

"Did you like it?" I put my hand on her stomach.

"Yeah, they did good keeping it like the book," she answered grabbing my hand and threading her fingers through mine. "I think you just wanted to see Kristen." Millie was teasing.

I laughed at the comment, "You are crazy to even think that." I stroked my thumb across the palm of her hand.

"Good answer," Millie smirked. Pushing herself up so she was sitting on my lap, her legs stretched out in front of her, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I only have my eyes on you," I said. She really was the only girl I wanted to see and be with in every way imaginable. I put my hands on her waist, sneaking my fingers under her shirt.

Millie leaned in, pressing her soft lips against mine and increasing the pressure.

"Have I mentioned how happy I am that you came out to visit me?" I asked, pulling away from her after a while.

"I don't think you have, but it shows," she brushed her lips against mine again. I guess she wasn't in the mood to talk, not that I was going to complain about that.

This was definitely our best visit yet.

* * *

_Saturday, March 22, 2008 – Portland, Oregon_

_Millie's Point of View_

My week with Rob was over already. I knew it would go fast, but didn't expect it to go as fast as it had. I put the last of my stuff back into my bag and zipped it up. Rob sat quietly at the end of the bed, watching me. I had been on the set with him the day before, and he managed to get out of filming long enough to go with me to the airport. I had protested, but he had insisted.

At least we could have a few more moments to ourselves. This time we didn't know when we would see each other again because his schedule was filling rather quickly, and I didn't know yet what I would be doing come graduation.

"Well I guess that's everything," I turned around, looking at Rob and doing my best to smile. It was going to be really hard to be away from him this time.

"Looks like it," he glanced around the room and back at me before standing up. The concierge at the front desk had called a few minutes before letting us know that the car was already here. "I'll get this bag for you."

"Thanks." I slid my carry-on over my shoulder as he grabbed my rolling suitcase off of the dresser and put it on the floor. Rob kissed my lips quickly and then moved toward the door. I followed.

We made our way to the elevator and downstairs to the car quietly, and the ride to the airport was just as quiet. I know I was thinking about how amazing this week had been; for more reasons then just the physical bonding that had taken place and the words that were spoken. My heart warmed every time I heard him say "I love you", and I hoped that feeling never stopped.

At the airport, Rob asked the driver to wait for him and he walked me inside. I checked in and then we headed to the security checkpoint.

"Are you positive you have to back to school?" He asked a smile in his eyes.

"Yeah," I sighed, stepping closer to him and wrapping my arms around his slim waist. "I gotta finish school."

"Eh, who needs that?" He asked, and I laughed.

"I think my parents would kill me if I dropped out now," I responded.

"Well we can't have that now," Rob shook his head, kissing my forehead. I was going to miss being in his arms like this.

"I'm glad I was able to fly out here," I smiled.

"It was a very successful trip."

"Yes it was," I agreed standing up straighter so I could kiss him. My bag slipped down, and Rob grabbed it, setting it on the floor, never breaking contact with my lips. We had to make this last. My goal was to not cry this time, but it didn't work out for me. Rob wiped my cheeks, kissing each softly after.

"Are you going to be okay?"

I nodded yes.

"I love you Mills," he said.

"I love you too." I liked hearing him call me that, it was a nickname my family had for me, but it sounded so much better coming from him. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Rob kissed me. "Call me as soon as you land."

"I will," I didn't want to step out of his arms yet so instead I pressed my lips against his again. "I should go." The line to get through security seemed to get longer the longer we stood there.

"Yeah." As Rob stepped away from me, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "We've done this before."

I nodded. He was right, we had. I knew we'd be okay. I kissed Rob's cheek and told him I loved him again before turning to get in line.

**End Notes:** So I'm kind of stumped as to where to go from here. I have some stuff in my mind, but I just don't know. So any questions or comments would be great. I'm glad ya'll are still


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: **All I can say is you guys asked for it. :P

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 20**

_Thursday, May 8, 2008 – Fayetteville, AR_

I had had my last final review of my college career and could not have been anymore relieved than I was. It went very well and now it was time to celebrate. James and Jake's ground-floor apartment was already filling with the 40 of us who would be graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and some students from the years below us. It was going to be a good night.

I walked into the kitchen where James was playing bartender, mixing drinks for a few people.

"Hey Millie! Want one?" James held up the red plastic cup when he saw me.

"Thanks," I took it from him.

"Did you see the table outside?" James asked.

"I just got here," I shook my head, taking a sip of the strong concoction in the cup.

"You have to see it. Everybody's painting on it." He set down the glass bottle in his hand, picked up a plastic cup for himself, and took my hand in his. I let him take it and followed him out the sliding glass doors to the small patio, which was open to a small grassy area.

They had an old wood table out there that people had sprayed different colors of paint on the top of. I did not know why they were doing it, but James and Jake always had weird ideas, so I wasn't going to question it.

"Hey Millie," Rachel approached me, her boyfriend following close behind.

"What's up?" I asked. James dropped my hand when another guy from our class tossed him one of the spray paint cans. Rachel and I talked until I was dragged away by James and Jake to add to the abstract mess that had become the table top.

After 30 minutes or so, I went inside to wash my hands and grab another drink. James followed me in.

"Can we talk?" He asked as I unscrewed the cap off of a beer bottle.

"Sure," I answered. We hadn't talked much since the whole thing with Rob in January. It was such a stupid reason too; I had tried, but he hadn't made it easy.

"Let's go to my room," he suggested. I agreed because it would be a lot quieter in there. James closed the door behind us, muffling the noises coming from the rest of the apartment. I was pretty sure their neighbors were loving them, especially on a weeknight.

I felt awkward standing in James' room, with him staring at me while he tried to figure out what to say. I brought my drink to my lips and took a small sip, trying to avoid his gaze. "So, um … what did you want to talk about?" I asked, staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry I wasted this whole semester being a jerk," James finally spoke.

"I'm sorry you did too," I sighed, meeting his eyes with my own. I thought of him as one of my best friends, and we really had wasted four months because of his jealousy.

"I just, I really like you, and I didn't realize it until I saw you with him," he said 'him' a little harshly.

"I love Rob," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest. I was a little surprised when James stepped closer, forcing me to take a step backward.

"Do you?" James asked.

"That's a stu-" I didn't see it coming; his lips pressed against mine. "Fuck James." I pushed him away. "What are you doing?" I was really mad at him. I didn't bother to see if he had an answer to the question, but turned and quickly left his room.

"Millie!" James followed me, grabbing my arm.

"Let go," I shrugged him off and started walking again. We were about to start a scene and that was the last thing I wanted. I set my bottle down on a table and headed out the front door.

"Millie, come on, don't leave," he continued to trail behind me.

"James."

"Just stay," he said again. "I promise I'll stay away."

"Leave me alone," I stopped, leaning against the building's brick wall.

"I'm sorry," James said and went back inside.

I stood outside for several minutes, cooling off, before going back inside. I wasn't going to let James' idiocy ruin celebrating my accomplishments with the rest of my friends. I joined a group of them who were playing a drinking game on the living room floor. I wanted to drink and forget about what had just happened.

At some point during the night, James had made his way back to where I was, and I found myself leaning against him. We were laughing about something only the two of us got when he kissed me again. I was too far gone by then to care.

* * *

_Friday, May 9, 2008_

It was bad when I woke up the next morning; not only did I feel like a truck hit me, but I was in an unfamiliar room, half-dressed, with someone snoring rather loudly next to me. I didn't want to see who that someone was, but I already had a pretty good feeling of who. This was not good.

It only got worse when my cell phone started ringing. I heard James swear next to me, and then he rolled over, stuffing his head under the pillow. My jeans were on the floor next to the bed, where the ringing was coming from. I managed to dig the phone out without falling off the bed.

"Hello?" I groaned into the phone, it was either going to be my parents, one of my sisters, or Rob. I was hoping it wouldn't be the latter, but I could only be so lucky.

"Good morning," Rob's cheery voice came over the line.

"Hi Rob," I tried to sound happy, but couldn't, especially when I looked over and saw James under the covers. I wanted to throw-up for more reasons than one.

"Rough night?" There was a smile in his voice.

"You could say that," I managed to let out a small laugh and pushed my hair back from my face.

"How did your reviews go?"

"Good … I guess." The pain in my head increased. James rolled over to his other side. I couldn't tell if he was awake or not. "I can't really remember right now."

Rob laughed, "I'll call you back later. Eat something … I love you, Millie."

"I love you too, Rob," I sighed out. "Bye." I felt absolutely horrible when I hung up the phone. I needed to wake up the man next to me to see if he knew what happened. I kicked him, thankful to feel the jean material covering his legs. At least one of us had our pants on. James groaned.

"Get up James," I said loudly, causing the ache in my head to grow, as I reached over and pulled the pillow off his head.

"What the fuck?" he moaned, opening his eyes a little. When I came into focus, he pulled himself back quickly, taking the covers with him as he stumbled out of bed. "Shit … Millie?"

"That's me …" I sighed, reluctantly. He covered his eyes when he realized I didn't have my jeans on, and dropped the covers back on the bed. Instead of covering myself with the sheet, I leaned over and reached for my jeans, and tugged them on. "Okay, I'm decent."

He looked relieved and then about as confused as I felt.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked hesitantly.

"It couldn't have been much … I mean … yeah …" James fumbled around his words and gestured toward his state of dress, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. He sighed, leaning his head in his hands. "Shit."

"I know," I groaned, glancing over at him. The silence was deafening for a few minutes between us.

"I am so sorry Millie," he was the first to speak. He turned to look at me. "I hope I don't fuck it up for you and Rob."

His honesty killed me. As much as I knew he didn't like Rob, I knew he was being truthful. Whatever went on couldn't have been entirely his fault though.

"Do you think – we uh … anything happened past kissing?" I leaned back against the wall.

"Honestly, I don't … we probably just passed out," he admitted.

"This sucks." I rubbed my eyes, hoping to keep any tears from falling. There was no way I could not tell Rob what had happened. If we were going to be in this relationship we couldn't keep things from each other, but I probably just killed it with one night of stupidity. I was never drinking again.

"I gotta go," I pushed myself off of the bed, sticking my phone in my pocket. I needed to get out of there and away from whatever this was that I had got myself into. "I'll uh, see you tomorrow." I bolted out the door, hoping that Jake wouldn't be up yet.

I made it out without any incident and was just about to get in the car when my phone rang again. It was my parents letting me know that they were on their way up for the weekend. This was not the way I wanted to start my graduation weekend.

I took my time getting back to my dorm room and taking a shower, thinking the entire time how I was going to approach this with Rob. I hope this one stupid mistake would not ruin what Rob and I had. Rob was pretty understanding, as far as I had seen, but you never know.

When I finally got the courage to call Rob back, it was mid-afternoon. I didn't know if he would be busy or not, but I really just wanted to get it over with. I dreaded telling him what happened, but I had to.

"You're alive!" He answered after a few rings.

"Yes, I am," I responded. "What are you up to?"

"Just working on some music," Rob answered. They had wrapped up filming a few weeks before, and he was back in L.A. I let him talk for a while trying to build up the nerve to tell him. I didn't want to hurt him.

"Hey Rob," I stopped him in the middle of what he was saying.

"Yeah Millie?"

"I, um," I cleared my throat nervously. "I need to tell you something."

"Oh," Rob's response was hesitant. I couldn't blame him for that though. I sunk down lower in my desk chair, wishing I could hide from the words I was going to say. I had his attention and it was now or never.

"When you called this morning, I was kind of in James' bed." That sounded horrible. He took in a sharp breath, and I knew he was trying to process what I just said. I could only be glad that I did not have to look him in the eyes for this.

"How can you _kind of_ be in some guy's bed? Either you are or you aren't." There was no doubt in my mind that Rob was tugging on his hair.

"I promise nothing happened."

"How can you be so sure? You were still pretty out of it when I talked to you this morning." He was trying to stay calm.

"I can be …" I trailed off and then immediately regretted the next sentence out of my mouth. "He still had his pants on."

"He still had his pants on?" Rob asked. "That's how you defend yourself? He still had his pants on …" he mumbled. "And what about you? How dressed were you?" I could tell he was doing his best to remain calm and not completely blow up.

"I still had on my top and my," I swallowed thickly, "my underwear." I hated every moment of this. I was starting to wish I had never even gone to the stupid celebration the night before.

"Shit," he swore and then the line went dead.

There was no more use holding back the tears I had been trying to keep at bay all day. I told myself that he just needed time to cool off, and we'd be okay. We had to be. It was just a stupid, drunken mistake. I picked up my phone and texted him.

* * *

To: Rob  
5/9/2008 2:57 p.m.

I promise nothing happened. You have to trust me. I love you so much Rob.

* * *

**End Notes:** Don't kill me, but there's got to be some suspense, right? Mix it up a little.

P.S. Come and hang out with us at RobertPattinsonFiction [ dot] com!


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: **It's a short one, but I didn't think there was much else I could do with this one. I'm not sure if I'm entirely happy with it … *sigh*

**~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~**

**Chapter 21**

_Saturday May 10, 2008 – Los Angeles_

_Rob's Point of View_

It was late Saturday afternoon when I finally decided to call Millie back after hanging up on her the previous day. I had done that because I did not want to say or do something I'd regret even more later. It hurt a lot when she said she had stayed the night at James' and woken up in his bed, half dressed.

The words Millie had said replayed over and over in my mind, and I had reread the text she sent shortly after just as many times. There was no doubt in my mind or heart that she would not have done that if she had been sober. I did believe and trust her; she wasn't that kind of girl.

Normally, I wasn't the hitting of fighting type, but James should be so lucky that I was as far away as I was. I couldn't believe he'd taken advantage of her state of mind like that. Than again, I didn't know James well enough, so maybe I could believe that.

If I found out that he hurt Millie in anyway I would have been knocking down his door. Millie had been upset that James wasn't talking to her like he had in the past since I had come into the picture, and now he had only made it worse.

"Rob?" Millie sounded anxious when she answered her phone. There was a lot of noise coming from her end. "Hold on a second, okay?" It was another minute or so before I heard her voice again. "Sorry. I'm out to eat with my family."

"Should I call back?" I didn't want to interrupt her time with family.

"No!" She replied quickly, "Let's talk. I want to talk. I'm so sorry Rob." Her tone of voice told me she felt really bad about the previous morning. "I just, I said it the absolute wrong way …"

"I …," I sighed, standing up from my perch on the hotel room bed and pacing the small space. I wasn't sure if I should apologize for hanging up on her or what. This really wasn't the type of conversation you wanted to have with the girl you were in love with.

"So what happened?" I decided to ask before any courage I had to really know the truth went away. I shoved one of my hands through my hair.

"James and Jake had a party at their apartment last night, like I mentioned the other day. It was fine until James wanted to talk, he apologized for being an idiot this semester, but then he kissed me," she sounded frustrated. My fist clenched at my side as she continued, "I pushed him away that time, and he promised to keep away from me for the rest of the night, if I'd stay."

"I was so furious and frustrated with him," Millie continued, "I went and sat down with some other friends who were playing a game, and really I just drank too much. I don't … don't remember anything after that."

I took in every word she said and thought for a moment, "You really don't think anything happened?"

"I don't Rob." I could picture her shaking her head, calmly. "There's no way. Neither of us were in our right minds; we probably just kissed and then passed out. I feel horrible about it."

"I know," I sighed and sat back down at the foot of the bed. I was still upset and never wanted to hit someone more; James just couldn't keep his grubby little hands and lips to himself.

"What are you thinking?" Millie asked after we were silent for a while.

"How much I could kill James now," I answered. The thought kind of brought a smile to my face and then Millie laughed.

"I love you, I really do," she said. "I never would have done this under other circumstances."

"I know you wouldn't," I responded and let out a heavy breath. "I'm sorry I hung up on you yesterday."

"Don't be," Millie said strictly. "You had every right to do that. I'm just … I'm glad you called me back today." She asked hesitantly, "Are we going to be okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "As long as you promise to never drink again."

Millie laughed, "After last night, there's no way … too much drama for me, unless, of course, there's a chance I end up in your bed."

"I guess we can allow it then," I smiled.

"Ah, man," she whined, "Maisie's waving me back inside."

"Oh-k." I didn't want to let her go, but I knew she had her familial obligations to take care of. "Just one more thing before you go, as much as I hate the whole thing, thank you for being honest with me love."

"It's only fair," Millie said quietly. "Thanks Rob." I knew she was thanking me for listening and forgiving her.

"Always Millie. We'll talk later. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye Rob."

"Bye."

After talking to Millie, I felt a little better about what had happened. Of course I was still upset about the whole situation, but if I didn't trust what she told me and forgive her for it, it would drive me insane and our relationship would end up nowhere. I did not want that to happen.

* * *

_Fayetteville, Arkansas_

_Millie's Point of View_

"Is everything all right?" Maisie asked me as we made our way back to the table. Maggie and she had been eyeing me since they had arrived in Arkansas the previous day. I knew both of them could tell that something was up with me.

"Yeah," I answered, "just some crazy stuff happened yesterday, and Rob and I needed to talk."

"What kind of stuff?" she asked.

"I'll tell you later," I said and sat back down at the table.

"Who was that Mills?" My Dad asked me when I picked up my fork. Our food had arrived.

"Just a friend," I replied. I hadn't told my parents about Rob just yet. I just wasn't sure how they'd respond to me dating an actor, from London of all places. My sisters had been sworn to secrecy when I first told them a year ago, but they still didn't know what he did for a living.

I felt relieved after getting to talk to Rob about what happened yesterday. I knew he was still upset about it, but at least I knew we'd be okay.

I had hardly enjoyed my graduation day, my thoughts constantly on Rob and how he was feeling. James and I barely even made eye contact at the ceremony and reception, except when my parents insisted on James, Jake and I taking a picture together. Even then it was only for a few seconds, and I think Jake was onto us, but he didn't say anything, and for that I was grateful.

I should have been more excited and relaxed during the dinner after clearing the air, but my mind kept turning to Rob and how much I wanted to spend some time with him. I wanted to make it up to him and wondered if Rob would be opposed to me visiting him within the next few days. If anything it could be a graduation gift for me and a birthday present for him.

It was late when I got back to my dorm room, for my last night in it. I still had to finish packing up my stuff before I moved out the following morning, but first I wanted to call Rob and see what he thought about me going to Los Angeles for a few days to visit.

We talked for a few minutes and then I brought up the idea of coming out to see him.

"So what do you think?" I asked.

"I'd love to see you," Rob replied. "I think it's a good idea. There isn't much scheduled the next couple of days, so it would be fine."

"Great!" I liked having something good to look forward too. "I'll see if I can get a flight out for Monday."


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: **So this one took me a few extra days to get out, but it's done. :)

**_~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~_**

**_Chapter 22_**

_Monday, May 12, 2008 – Los Angeles_

_Millie's Point of View_

The past few days had felt like a rollercoaster between the whole James incident, graduation, moving back to Texas, and now I found myself navigating through one of the busy LAX terminals. All I needed to do was find my way out and get a cab to take me to Rob's apartment.

Rob told me he had something to do in the morning and wouldn't be able to pick me up, so I was surprised to see him casually waiting by one of the baggage carousels. I picked up my pace, and he moved forward when he saw me too.

"What are you doing here?" I let go of the handle on my rolling suitcase and wrapped my arms around him when we were standing in front of each other. I was happy to feel him against me again.

"Thought I'd surprise you," Rob held me close and kissed my forehead before pressing his lips to mine. "I'm happy to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too," I took a little step back, squeezing his forearms as I did.

"Did you bring another bag?" he asked, eyeing my one suitcase.

"This is it," I responded. The crowd was getting thicker around the carousel that bags would be coming out of soon.

"Great, lets get out of here," Rob grabbed the handle on my bag with one hand and with the other he took my hand in his. I followed him through the crowd and out to the garage where he had parked his car. When we got to it, I couldn't help but tease him about the car in front of us as he put the bag in the trunk.

"Don't hate. I'm proud of my car," Rob said as we got in. I laughed and pulled the seatbelt on around me. "Besides, not everyone can drive that monstrosity you call a car."

"I'm from Texas babe, what can I say?" I shrugged, leaning over the console and kissing his cheek. "Everyone drives a truck or SUV there." Rob just shook his head, as he turned his car on and backed out of the spot slowly. "So what's the plan for the next couple of days?"

"You didn't make a plan?"

"There wasn't enough time … besides we're on your turf."

"My turf?" Rob laughed, glancing over at me, "If you think I know where things are around here, you are mistaken my dear."

I rolled my eyes, "Is there anything you want to do for your birthday?"

"No, not really," he answered, shaking his head. "I am supposed to go out with everyone tomorrow night though."

"Yeah? That sounds fun." I assumed that 'everyone' was the cast.

"It should be," Rob agreed. "I'm sure they'll all be surprised to see you." He reached for my left hand and held it in his right.

"Well, since that seems to be a plan for tomorrow evening, can I take you out to dinner tonight for it?" I asked, turning in my seat so I was facing him. "Your choice, wherever you want …"

"That'd be cool," he answered.

I smiled, still feeling like I owed him the world after what happened Thursday night. I wanted to tell him I was sorry again but didn't know how open he would be to talk about it more. I debated back and forth in my mind for several minutes, before deciding to bring it up and at least let him see how bad I felt about the whole situation.

"What are you thinking about?" Rob asked me before I had a chance to speak.

"Uh, well …" I bit my lower lip and looked over at him. "I uh, want to say I'm sorry again about Thursday night/Friday morning."

"Oh," he glanced at me. "Millie, really … you don't have-"

"I do though," I sighed out, lacing my fingers through his. "I owe you so much-"

"That's nonsense. You don't owe me anything," he said. "It's over and done with. No more James talk."

"K," I resigned, turning my head to look out the front windshield, we were on the highway.

"Please don't worry about it. If you keep on, I'm gonna have to think differently about it and I don't-"

"I promise Rob," I cut him off, looking back at him.

"Millie." He looked at me pointedly and than back at the road.

"I'm done," I rested back against the seat and let go of his hand so I could pull my hair back off of my neck, feeling hot all of a sudden. This topic of conversation was clearly closed; I didn't want Rob to doubt what I had told him.

We rode the rest of the way to his apartment in silence, except for the radio. Now I felt bad for bringing it up.

"I wasn't trying to be harsh," Rob said when he parked the car at the building.

"No, its okay," I said. "I need to learn to keep my mouth shut while I'm ahead." I unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Lets just enjoy the time we have together."

I nodded in agreement, and we both got out of the car. Rob pulled my bag from the trunk, and then we headed in.

"So this is it … nothing special," Rob stated as we stepped inside. He showed me around the sparse one-bedroom apartment that he wasn't planning on calling home anytime in the foreseeable future.

"What do you want to do?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of his unmade bed.

I shrugged and approached so I could hug him. His arms immediately wrapped around me, and he pulled me closer, spreading his legs so I could stand between them. Rob pressed his lips to mine softly at first, but then increased the pressure.

I was so happy to be with him again after a couple of months. What he did to me made me forget about the car ride here and the past few days, which was just was I needed.

* * *

_Rob's Point of View_

When I picked Millie up at the airport, I was on a high, which she quickly squelched by bringing up the James incident. I don't know what she was thinking when she did bring it up. I guess she just wanted to make sure I knew she felt bad about it, but her guilt over it would only make me wonder if the worst really did happen.

I didn't want to think about it anymore, especially now because Millie was curled up against me, her body warm and bare. Neither of us was asleep, but she had her eyes closed and sounded like she was humming. I pressed my lips to her forehead, which made her look up and smile.

"Did you want something?" she smirked, running her fingers up my side.

"I already got it," I put my hands on her cheeks and kissed her lips. Millie's stomach growled at that moment, which made her blush.

"You got any food around here?" She sat up, pulling away from my arms.

"There might be something in the freezer," I shrugged, watching as she found the shirt and shorts she had on previously at the end of the bed. Millie put her clothes on, and I followed suit.

Once in the kitchen, she found a frozen pizza in the freezer and put it in the oven for lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening on my couch, talking about different things and half-watching a movie. When it was a decent time to go out for dinner, I picked a small Mexican restaurant to take her, even though she would pay.

"I need to know how you feel about something," I started, looking up from my plate.

"What's that?" Millie asked, looking up from her own plate, with a smile.

"Well," I paused, not entirely sure how to word what I wanted to find out. "With all the press and attention the movie is already getting, they're putting us through media training, and one of the things that have come up is our relationship statuses."

"Oh?" Mille questioned.

I nodded, thinking about what to say next. "So … uh, well Kristen and her boyfriend aren't going to hide their relationship, and I was just wondering what you thought about that." I quickly added, "For us?"

"Do I want our relationship to be public?" She asked, pushing her hair behind her ear and looking down at her plate. I could tell she was thinking about it. "What do you want Rob?"

"I … I don't know," I sighed. I really didn't know what to do about this. On one hand, I didn't want to deny that I had a girlfriend, but on the other, I didn't want drag her into the circus that my life seemed to be turning into.

"Well …" The internal debate was weighing on both our shoulders. "What do you think will be easiest for you?"

"That's hard to know," I responded. "I don't want to have to sneak around to be with you, but I also don't want you to be bombarded by the press and fans. It wouldn't be fair to you, neither option really is. There just isn't an easy way to go about it … I don't want you to get hurt, which could happen with either decision I make."

"I think I'd be okay if you didn't say you were in a relationship." Millie's statement sounded more like a question, and her expression reflected it.

"We don't have to decide right now, I just wanted to let you know and have a say in it."

Millie nodded, and we returned our attention to our plates.

"Oh! I can't believe I forgot," I said excited to tell her some other news I had. "We do have something to do on Wednesday."

"What's that?" She asked feeding off of my excitement.

"We are going to a recording studio."

"We are?"

I nodded, "Catherine got a hold of some of my music, and she wants me to record a couple tracks for the movie and soundtrack."

"I'm finally going to get to hear you sing?" Millie stressed the word finally.

"Yes, you _finally_ are," I laughed.

"That's awesome Rob!" She smiled, standing up from her chair and leaning over the table, so she could kiss me. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks," I smiled. I actually was pretty excited about it.

"Now," Millie raised a brow in question. "How did Catherine hear your music before I did?" I shifted my eyes, avoiding her question. Millie just shook her head and went on to talk about something else.

We finished eating shortly after, and when our waitress came by and set the bill on the table, Millie snagged it up like it would run away. I guess she didn't trust me to not pay for it.

"Thank you Millie," I said as she dug through her bag.

"Of course," she smiled. "Happy Birthday Robbie."

"Ugh … I hate that nickname," I teased. It really didn't bother me that Millie liked to call me that.

"But I, love it," Millie smirked, sticking some cash inside the billfold. "Ready?" She asked, tossing her wallet back into her bag.

"Sure," I shrugged, pushing my chair back with my feet so I could stand up. Millie did the same, and I walked behind her out of the restaurant. I opened the car door for her and leaned down to give her a kiss once she was inside.

When we got back to the apartment, Millie went to get ready for bed because she was tired from traveling and the time difference. I decided to take a shower, and after, when I went back into the bedroom, Millie was already curled up under my sheets.

"Are you asleep?" I asked quietly in case she was.

"No," Millie mumbled opening her eyes and watching me walk across the room to turn out the overhead light. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I made my way over to the bed.

"Did you think about what we talked about earlier some more?" I asked as I climbed into bed next to her. After I settled down, she cuddled closer and wrapped one of her arms around me.

"Yeah," she answered, burying her face in my neck. "The negatives on both sides suck."

"I know," I agreed.

"I don't want to be a problem for you," she said. I wasn't sure where that had come from; a little of it might have stemmed from the events of the past few days.

"You'll never be a problem," I reassured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"You know that if you say you're not in a relationship and then if we try to go out it'll be the end of the world, but than if you do I might get some attention from it, which I don't want."

"I don't want to drag you into this," I sighed, running one of my hands in circles around her back. "But either way it'll happen."

"How about for now, because we really aren't around each other a lot anyway, you say you are single and then when we do get to be together we don't worry about it, and let what happens, happen."

"I guess that could work," I nodded against her head. "I just don't want to hide you."

"I don't like it either, but I guess we'll both just have to get used to that fact."

* * *

Come and play at robertpattinsonfiction [dot] com!


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: **I am stoked about this chapter. I haven't been this excited about one since Robbie went to Arkansas … okay, and maybe, Seattle too.

**_~ Ready and Waiting to Fall ~_**

**_Chapter 23_**

_Tuesday, May 13, 2008 – Los Angeles_

_Rob's Point of View_

Because Millie and I had stayed up late avoiding talking about what we should have been talking about, we got a late start to the day. It was nearing lunchtime when we made it out of my apartment. After much pushing on her part for me to pick something to do, I had decided to go to the beach because I hadn't really been out there since coming to California. Millie had no problem with that, and then she requested a stop by the Disney Concert Hall to take pictures of it.

We were on our way there first before we planned on picking up food to take to the beach. After I found a place to park near the building, Millie and I walked around it. She took her time taking pictures of the sculpture-like building and making observations about it. It still amazed me how into architecture she was.

"Come and feel this Rob," Millie's voice broke me out of my thoughts. She had her palm pressed against the metal surface and reached for my hand with her free one, placing it next to hers. "Feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Uh … sure," I shrugged. It felt like any other smooth, metal surface I had touched. Millie sighed, looking a little disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm. She dropped her hand, and I let mine fall to my side.

"Let's go get lunch," Millie turned and headed toward where we were parked.

"Wait … Millie … did you want to go inside?" I asked.

"No, that's all right, you're bored."

"I didn't say that. Come on," I grabbed her hand and started walking in the direction of the front doors. "I was enjoying watching and listening to you."

"Are you sure?" she asked, "I mean, it is your birthday … we can come back tomorrow."

"Nope," I shook my head. "We're going to the recording studio then, besides I'm interested in seeing what this place looks like inside now." I smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Thanks," she smiled back. We were able to get in the lobby, but the rest was closed off for the day. So after Millie took some pictures of the interior, we went back to the car.

I pulled through the drive-thru of In-and-Out Burger for lunch because Millie had never been to one, and then we drove out to the beach. We ate our food in my car and when we finished, Millie and I took a walk down the shore.

Millie and I sat down in the sand, away from a group of teenagers that were surely skipping school. I watched Millie stick her toes in the warm sand and play with it a while before she leaned onto me and rested her head on my shoulder.

I moved my arm from between us, so I could wrap it around her waist. She cuddled closer, returning the gesture. My fingers played with the hem of her shirt, grazing over her skin every once in a while.

Millie sighed, obviously more content than I was. I had so much running through my mind, between my personal life and my professional life, which was barely getting started.

"Is everything okay?" Millie asked quietly, over the sound of the waves. She reached up and ran her fingers around the collar of my T-shirt.

"I just … I have a lot on my mind," I sighed and rested my head on top of hers.

"You want to talk about it?" She moved her hand back down to my stomach.

"I know I said that I didn't want to talk about, you know who, but I, I want to," I swallowed thickly.

"Okay," Millie sighed. "What about it do you want to know?" She kept her head on my shoulder and arms wrapped around me tightly as she asked.

"When he kissed you the first time, did you feel anything?" I wasn't sure why I was putting myself through this torture. I should have closed this door when I had the chance yesterday.

"That's why I pushed him away Rob. It was not at all like how you make me feel when we're together," Millie answered.

"I wish you didn't stay at that party," I admitted after a minute of silence.

"I wish I didn't either." She reached up and wiped at her face. I could see the wetness on her fingers as she pulled them away.

"Oh, love," I moved away from her a little so I could look her in the eyes. "I didn't mean to make you cry." I wiped her cheeks for her.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Rob." I could tell she was trying to hold back her tears now. "If I had known that it would upset you like this, I never would have told you."

"Don't say that Millie, it's better that you did," I shook my head. "We could have ended up a lot worse if you hid it from me."

"I know," she exhaled. "It was just a really dumb move on my part."

"Yes, it was," I agreed, meeting her eyes with a smile. That little gesture made her smile too, which is what I wanted to see. "I trust you Millie, and I believe what you say about what happened. I want you to know that okay?" She nodded. "But I'm going to be weary about those situations and jealous and upset … and all that."

"I know you are and you're allowed that Rob, I would never deny you that," Millie stated. "I love you."

She leaned forward and touched her lips to mine; one of her hands came to rest on my cheek as she increased the pressure. I worked my lips against hers, wishing we were able to be together more than we were apart, but that wasn't how our relationship was.

Millie pulled away after a minute and gave me one more quick kiss before sitting back in the sand, her hands holding her up as she leaned backwards. She smiled at me, encouragingly, and then spoke, "is that all that's on your mind?"

I wasn't sure when she leaned to read me so well. I shook my head no and copied her position in the sand. Millie was quiet, watching the waves crash against the shore and soaking in the sun's rays.

"I'm thinking about the movie and what it's going to be like when it comes out."

"It's hard to say," Millie turned her head to look at me as she stretched her feet in front of her. "But judging by the way it's going right now, it'll do very well. You're going to have hot girls coming out of your ears and you'll forget all about me."

"I would never-" the words left my lips before I saw the little joking smirk on her face.

"I know you wouldn't Rob," Millie reached over and covered my hand with hers. "You're not that kind of guy.

"Just stay the way you are and don't let anyone change you because I love you, crazy hair and all." She reached over with her other hand and ruffled my hair, making it stand on end even more. I pushed my own hand through my hair after she took hers out.

"You'll always knock me down a few notches if I do right?" I honestly was afraid all this would change me, and I'd lose everything good I had in my life.

"Of course," she smiled, "but really, I don't think you will." Millie turned to look back out at the water, a small smile playing at her lips. I had to wonder what she was thinking. It was a few seconds before she spoke again.

"Gosh Rob, you're making me all depressed on your birthday."

I laughed, I really was depressing myself too, with things I no longer or just did not need to worry about right that second. Millie laughed as well, and before I knew it she popped up from her spot and was looking down at me.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Where?" I asked.

"Out there," she pointed to where the waves were coming on shore behind her. I looked from my jean-clad legs, to the ocean, back to her and around again.

"We are not in the right attire for a swim," I stated.

"Not an excuse," Millie shook her head, grinning and leaning down. She tugged one shoe off of one of my feet, followed quickly by the other. "Come on, socks too …" she waved toward my feet, standing straight again.

Millie's excitement could get me to do anything, so I obliged her request and took off my socks. I stood up, pulled out my wallet and car keys from my pocket, dropping them in the sand. My T-shirt followed and her smile widened at that. I let her take my hand before she made a run for the water, me behind her. Millie let out a little squeal as soon as our feet hit the cold water. She dropped my hand and jumped into one of the waves, soaking herself.

I followed her out farther, giving up on staying dry. My jeans were already soaked and clinging to my legs uncomfortably.

"Loosen up," Millie took that moment to splash some extra water in my direction.

"That's how it's going to be?" I smirked and she nodded. "Okay then …" I was just about to send a splash her way when a wave took care of it for me. She sputtered in surprise, wiped her face and smiled before disappearing under the water.

I moved a little farther out when I felt her hands on my legs. She came up for air behind me, placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed me down when the next wave hit.

I came back up to her giggling and my hair in my eyes. Millie's hands reached up and pushed my hair back. She was in a really playful mood, but I didn't mind since the last 24 hours had been filled with an underlying tension between us.

We played in the waves and under water like two kids for quite some time, before Millie laced her fingers through my belt loops and pulled herself flush against me. Her lips pressed against mine, and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

My arms immediately wrapped around her too. Our kiss was intense, and fast, and slow all at once. Millie and I pulled apart, both breathing heavily, as the current pushed at us underneath the water. I looked down between us and could not but help the smile at my next thought.

"Can I just say, how unfortunate it is that you are wearing a navy shirt," I stated, my hands sliding down to rest on her butt. I loved having her wrapped around me like this. Millie threw her head back in laughter, and I took that moment to press my lips to her neck. She tasted of salt water as I nibbled and licked at her soft skin.

"Ugh … Robbie," Millie sighed, rubbing against me and pressing her forehead to my shoulder. "Can we … mmm … can we go back to your apartment?"

"Yes, definitely," I agreed, nodding and looking into her eyes. "So beautiful." I pressed my lips to hers again and started walking back toward the shore. Millie unwound herself from around me when we got to the edge of the water and planted her feet on the ground.

"My car is going to be a mess," I stated. We were both dripping and were going to be covered in sand once we got back to it.

"That's all right, it could probably use a little rinse on the inside anyway," Millie grinned. I shook my head, chuckling a little too. We made our way back to what little stuff we had with us.

"Hurry up." Millie picked up her sandals and took off, running toward where we had parked. I grabbed my stuff as quickly as I could, chasing after her. This day had ended up all right, and it wasn't over yet. I was going to spend the rest of the day in bed with her, up until the last possible second before we had to go to dinner with everyone else.

"Wait up!" I yelled.

"Last one to your car has to do whatever the other one wants first!" Millie yelled, stopping just long enough to say that. I felt my face turn red when I noticed the few people on the beach turn to look at us. She was going to be in so much trouble. There was no way I would get there first; not only did she have a head start, but I was having a difficult time running in my wet jeans.

* * *

_Millie's Point of View_

Rob and I had an amazing afternoon at the beach and then back at his apartment. All of the strain that had been between us since I arrived was gone, and I couldn't have been happier. It was exactly what we needed, and we were back on the right track.

We were on our way to the restaurant where we would be meeting everyone for dinner. I was excited to see them all again, and I think Rob was looking forward to his birthday dinner.

When we got there, Kristen, her boyfriend, Nikki and Jackson were already seated at a table. I scooted into the booth and Rob slid in next to me. The waitress came by and got our drink orders while we waited for Ashley and Kellan to show up.

"So did you get anything special for your birthday?" Kristen asked.

"Just Millie coming out here," he looked at me.

"That's cool. Rob didn't mention you were coming out." She looked over at me.

"It was a last minute thing, between graduating on Saturday and stuff …" I shrugged. "Thought it'd be nice to be here for his birthday and before ya'lls schedule gets busy again." We talked about my graduation for a while and then the conversation changed course.

"I'll be right back," Rob said as he slid out from the bench after our food had come.

As soon as he was out of earshot Nikki turned to me and said, "We bought him a cake. The waitress is going to bring it out after we're done with our food."

"Awesome," I grinned. "He's going to hate that."

"That's why we did it," Kristen laughed.

After our empty plates were removed from the table, the waitress went to get the cake from the kitchen. When Rob saw her headed in our direction carrying it, with 22 lit candles, he sunk down lower in his seat and glared at me.

"Hey!" I held up my hands in defense and then pointed across the table at Nikki and Kristen, "That was all them. I had nothing to do with it."

His face was bright red as she set the cake down in front of him. Kellan and Jackson started making a lot of noise, which caused more people to look over at us. Rob leaned forward, trying to hide behind his hand.

"Awe, come on love," I nudged his side with a laugh, joining in with the rendition of "Happy Birthday" that the girls had started. When the bad singing was over, Rob reluctantly blew out the candles and there was more noise at the table.

"I hate all of you," Rob tried to be angry, but couldn't hide his smile and trying not to laugh.

"But we love you," I smiled and patted his leg before reaching for the candles to pull them out of the frosting. The waitress brought us a knife, and clean plates and forks. I helped cut the vanilla cake and serve it. After we finished the dessert, paid for our food, and were heading out, Rob invited them to come over to his apartment.

We were all standing outside of the restaurant talking rather loudly about who would stop and buy drinks after I mentioned Rob not having much in his fridge. Kellan ended up volunteering, and everybody piled in their respective vehicles, heading in the direction of Rob's apartment.

"You didn't have anything in mind for after did you?" Rob asked.

"On, no," I shook my head, holding onto the leftover cake as he turned out of the parking lot. "I think I'm good for a bit." I had a general idea of what he was referring to.

"Just checking," he smiled in my direction.

"Are you enjoying your birthday now?"

"Yeah," Rob nodded. "Thanks for earlier, by the way."

"Anytime," I reached over and patted his thigh. "I like it when I can cheer you up."

"You are very good at that." He covered my hand with his, squeezing it lightly. We arrived at his apartment a few minutes later. "Ready for some crazy?"

"As long as the crazy involves me waking up next to you," I cringed a little as I said those words.

Rob laughed as he leaned over to kiss me, "I can guarantee that."

"Good," I grinned, relieved that that ordeal was truly over. I pressed my lips against his again.

We were interrupted by Kristen pounding on the window, "Hey, let's go … we're waiting!" Rob laughed against my lips as he pulled away. I saw his middle finger go up, before he kissed me again.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to have everyone over," his forehead rested against mine.

"Let's go in …" I laughed, reaching for the door handle.


End file.
